Mainland Spain has recorded its hottest temperature for April, hitting 38.8 degrees Celsius in Cordoba, preliminary data from the national weather office shows.

The temperature recorded at the airport in the southern Spanish city yesterday "would be ... a record temperature in mainland Spain for the month of April", state weather agency AEMET tweeted.

This "provisional data" must still be confirmed, a process that can take several days, a spokesperson said.

The previous record high temperature in mainland Spain was set in 2011 in the eastern city of Elche when the mercury hit 38.6C.

The highest temperature for all of Spain in the month of April, however, was recorded in 2013 on the Canary Islands where it reached 40.2C.

Spain and neighbouring Portugal have been gripped by an unusually early heatwave, driven by a mass of very hot and dry air coming from Africa. Experts say it is very likely that climate change is playing a role.

The temperature hit 32C this afternoon in Cordoba and the central city of Ciudad Real.

However they are expected to ease over the weekend.

The scorching temperatures have prompted warnings about the high risk of wildfires and worsened drought conditions that have already led some farmers not to sow seeds this year.

Last year, Spain experienced its hottest year since records began, with United Nations figures suggesting nearly 75% of its land is susceptible to desertification due to climate change.

Water reservoirs are at half their capacity nationally and the COAG farmers' union says 60% of farmland is "suffocating" from lack of rainfall.

In the northern Spanish province of Cantabria, fishing in four sections of four rivers will be temporarily suspended because of drought from tomorrow.