Weather tracker: More rain forecast in Spain as storms approach | Extreme weather

The low pressure system that was responsible for Spain's most devastating floods in decades in Valencia also set new rainfall records in southeastern Spain. Jerez de la Frontera received 115mm of rain in 24 hours on Wednesday – the rainiest day on record for the southern Spanish city. The flooding caused widespread flooding and road closures, and there is an increased risk of the Barbate River in Cadiz bursting its banks, with further rainfall forecast through Friday and into the weekend.

While the rare red warning issued for Valencia on Thursday has expired, Spain's national weather service Aemet is maintaining yellow and orange rainfall warnings for the southern and Mediterranean regions as storms continue to intensify.

Also this week, severe thunderstorms in northeastern South Africa prompted the South African Weather Service to issue a yellow warning as strong winds, hail and heavy rain swept across the region. On Monday and Tuesday, Limpopo and Mpumalanga provinces reported more than 40 injuries and four deaths from collapsing buildings and flying debris. Hailstones caused severe damage to more than 30 schools, while flooding led to road closures and widespread power outages.

In Japan, a grim new record was set in October for the longest time without snow on Mount Fuji. The previous record was set in 1955, when the first snow didn't arrive until October 26th. Snow usually falls on Mount Fuji in early October, with the first flakes appearing on October 5th last year. Warm summer conditions and high sea temperatures have contributed to the lack of snow, which is likely to continue for several days.

Meanwhile, northern parts of Western Australia (WA) have experienced unusually high temperatures in recent days. The town of Roebourne in WA's Pilbara region recorded a record high temperature of 45.3C over the weekend, Australia's highest October temperature in 15 years. In the following days, a cold front will move in from the north and moderate temperatures. However, this heat will spread across central and southern Australia over the weekend, with temperatures reaching around 34°C in Adelaide on Saturday and 36°C in Sydney on Sunday, 12°C and 10°C above the seasonal average respectively.