On Tuesday, four weather stations in Myanmar hit or matched record monthly temperatures, with Theinzayet, in eastern Mon state, reaching the highest, at 43C. It adds: “Record April temperatures have been recorded at monitoring stations across Thailand, Myanmar, Laos and Vietnam, as well as in China and South Asia. Separately, the Guardian says that “Asia is experiencing weeks of ‘endless record heat’, with sweltering temperatures causing school closures and surges in energy use”. Another Reuters article reports from a “drought-hit Spanish town water trucked in as temperatures peak”. Similarly, Reuters reports that “France will have wildfire-fighting troops and their water-carrying aircraft ready on 1 June, one month earlier than usual, to adapt to fires starting earlier than in the past due to climate change, a senior official said”. In some locations records are being beaten by a 5C margin, which is something that has happened only a handful of times at weather stations around the world,’ said Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist who runs an Extreme Temperatures twitter account.” The Guardian says: “The Spanish government has advised people to take extra care as the drought-stricken country experiences record-breaking temperatures that could result in an unprecedented April temperature of 39C in parts of Andalucía on Friday.” Le Monde notes that “scorching temperatures have prompted warnings about the ‘high risk’ of wildfires in a nation that has already seen fire ravage 54,000 hectares (133,400 acres) of land so far this year, compared with 17,000 hectares in the same period last year”. ‘This heat event in Spain is absolutely extreme, unprecedented with temperatures never seen before in April. Experts were surprised by the scale of the heat experienced across southern Spain in recent days. Temperatures are completely out of control this year,’ Cayetano Torres, a spokesman for Spain’s meteorological office, told BBC News.

It’s been driven by a mass of very hot air from Africa, coupled with a slow moving weather system.

For days a blistering heatwave has hit the country with temperatures 10-15C warmer than expected for April. It adds: “The record figure was reached in Cordoba airport in southern Spain just after 15:00 local time. BBC News reports that “Spain recorded its hottest ever temperature for April on Thursday, hitting 38.8C according to the country’s meteorological service”. There is continuing widespread coverage of the unseasonably early extreme heat affecting many areas of the northern hemisphere.

In the shadow of man goodall