For seven years, Håkan Hedberg-Hidalgo and his wife Sissy have lived in Torrevieja on the Spanish east coast, where they together run a company that, among other things, deals with property supervision.
The two have long since adapted to the Spanish lifestyle with a siesta in the afternoons when the temperature is at its warmest.
If you're on the go in the afternoons, it can be directly dangerous. The heat is like a wall, you have to move slowly and drink enormous amounts of water at this time of year to keep your body in balance, says Håkan Hedberg-Hidalgo.
When it's up to 40 degrees, there's not much you can do other than stay away.
46 degrees of heat in Portugal and Spain
Over the weekend, several heat records were set in Spain and Portugal, where the temperature rose to around 46 degrees. In France, 200 schools are completely or partially closed on Monday, while several countries, including Greece and Turkey, have issued warnings of a risk of forest fires.
It's not quite as hot in Torrevieja – where the thermometer on Monday morning shows 31 degrees in the shade.
It will probably creep up when it peaks in the afternoon. Yesterday (Sunday) we had around 35.8 degrees, says Håkan Hedberg-Hidalgo.
Take a break – drink water
Through social media, he posts updates where he urges caution in the heat to his customers and followers.
Many are not sufficiently aware and unfortunately, we had a death on the beach here yesterday. We try all the time to urge our followers to be careful with water and to take a break in the afternoon. You can still get a tan, says Håkan Hedberg-Hidalgo.
