Spain is preparing for an exceptional heat wave week for the month of April

2023-04-25 15:49:43

The Sau reservoir, about 100 kilometers north of Barcelona, ​​Spain, Tuesday April 18, 2023. EMILIO MORENATTI / AP

Temperatures could reach 40°C this week in Spain. Unusual temperatures for the month of April, underlines the Spanish meteorological agency (AEMET) on Tuesday April 25, the cause of which is “the gradual entry of a mass of very hot and dry air from Africa, associated with atmospheric stability [c’est-à-dire un temps inchangé] and strong sunshine”.

These temperatures will be “typical of summer” et “exceptionally high for these dates”adds theAEMETin a statement posted on its Twitter account, and which expects the mercury to rise to 38-40 degrees Celsius in the southern Guadalquivir Valley, which includes the city of Cordoba, from Thursday.

If the forecast is confirmed, it would be the highest temperature recorded for any month of April since official weather records began in the country in 1961. The previous monthly record of 37.4°C was recorded in the eastern region of Murcia April 9, 2011. Meteorologists are also warning of an increased risk of wildfires as the heatwave coincides with a long-lasting drought in the country.

Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Spain, a first big fire of the early year, against a backdrop of prolonged drought

Adapted school hours

To help people cope with the first heat wave of the year, the government of the Madrid region announced a special action plan on Monday, including measures to allow schools to adapt their timetables according to heat peaks and to ensure adequate air conditioning in health centres.

The Spanish capital’s ubiquitous outdoor pools, where locals flock every year when temperatures soar, will open in mid-May, a month earlier than usual, and the capital’s metro will increase air conditioning and train frequency to avoid congestion.

The city of Seville, in the southwest of the country, increased its emergency services budget and the number of its health professionals on the occasion of the Feria de Abril, a very popular spring fair which attracted 2022 some 500,000 people. According to the annual report on the state of the climate from Copernicus, the European Union’s climate change service, southern Europe in 2022 experienced the highest number of days of “very high heat stress” never recorded.

Read also: The year 2022 had the hottest October on record in Europe, according to Copernicus

The World with Reuters