Urgent Spain holiday warning over ‘extreme risk’ alert for popular resort as 43C Charon ‘heat storm’ hits island

TOURISTS are facing a red alert weather warning in Majorca as a heatwave scorches Southern Europe.

The Spanish resort island is expecting temperatures of up to 43C with tomorrow set to be the hottest day of the year so far.

Spain's Met Office issued the red alert, warning of "extreme risk" to health - especially for the elderly, young babies and those with existing illnesses.

Experts urged tourists and locals to stay hydrated and remain in the shade as a "heat storm" dubbed Charon hits resorts around the Med.

Holidaymakers are being told to avoid drinking alcohol and caffeine as the mercury rises in countries including Spain, Italy, France, Croatia and Greece.

Weather experts have declared 2023 an El Niño year - a natural phenomenon that occurs cyclically and causes fluctuations in the global climate.

The UN’s World Meteorological Organization said it will raise temperatures around the world, and the effect is likely to continue for the rest of the year.

Health officials are reminding people to stay hydrated and seek shade from the sun, with reports of tourists fainting in the heat in Rome and Athens.

And red weather alert warnings are in place in 16 cities across Italy, including Rome - where temperatures are likely to hit 43C.

A red alert suggests the heat is high enough to pose a health risk to the whole population - not just vulnerable groups like the elderly and very young children.

It comes after at least three people are believed to have died in Italy's smothering heat last week.

The extreme weather caused the death of a 44-year-old man who collapsed while painting a zebra crossing in Milan at 40C.

He was rushed to hospital but could not be saved.

And two brothers, aged six and seven, died after they jumped into a reservoir in Manfredonia in southern Italy, reportedly to cool down.

Meanwhile wildfires erupted in the Spanish island of La Palma, leading to the evacuation of more than 4,000 people.

A wildfire has also been reported in the Kouvaras area in Attica, southern Greece, with the Greek civil service reporting up to 150 firefighters are attempting to control the blaze.

The latest bout of heat belongs to a weather system originating in North Africa - an anticyclone dubbed Charon.

It is named after a character from Ancient Greek mythology - and follows on the heels of another high pressure weather system, Cerberus, responsible for last week's sweltering heat.

Weather forecasters have warned temperatures could climb above 48C on the Italian islands of Sardinia and Siciily, 45C in Turkey and 44C in Spain.

But the UK Met Office said Brits would not experience similar heat this summer, saying there was "no forecast signal" for temperatures to match the heatwave the UK felt last year.