Spain has been told to brace up for a week of soaring temperatures that could reach as high as 40C in what could shatter records for April, and meteorologists have warned of the risk of wildfires.
Spain’s weather agency AEMET said on Tuesday that the cause for the predicted hike in temperatures is “the progressive entry of a very warm and dry air mass from Africa coupled with atmospheric stability (meaning unchangeable weather) and strong sunshine”, that has coincided with a long-running drought.
AEMET added that as mercury expected to creep up to 38-40 degrees Celsius (100-104 Fahrenheit) in the southern Guadalquivir Valley that includes the city of Cordoba, these unseasonable temperatures would be “typical of summer” and “exceptionally high for these dates”.
That would be the highest figure for April since official record keeping of Spanish meteorological data began in 1961. The previous monthly high of 37.4C was recorded in the eastern region of Murcia on April 9, 2011.
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Large swathes of the country would be at high or extreme risk of wildfires due to the abnormal heat, AEMET spokesman Ruben del Campo told reporters after he had previously said that rising temperatures in Spain were “clearly attributable to climate change, which has led to higher temperatures on a global scale”.
A special action plan, including measures to allow schools to adapt their timetables around peak temperatures and ensuring proper air conditioning at health centres was announced by the government on Monday.
Under the plan, Madrid’s ubiquitous outdoor swimming pools, where locals flock as the temperatures climb each year, will open a month earlier than usual, in mid-May while the capital’s subway system is also set to crank up the A/C and increase train frequency to avoid overcrowding.
In its annual State of the Climate report, the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said southern Europe experienced the highest number of days with “very strong heat stress” on record in 2022.
Story was adapted from Reuters.
