Fires, heat wave… Spain and Portugal on alert

2023-08-09 12:27:14

A heat peak in Spain and thousands of hectares burned in Portugal: the Iberian Peninsula, on the front line of global warming in Europe, is on alert this Wednesday, August 9 and could break temperature records. The Express takes stock.

Heat records expected in Spain

This episode of heat wave, the third of the summer, should reach its peak this Wednesday in Spain, with temperatures which could go up to 44°C in places, according to the National Meteorological Agency (Aemet). She announced that this heat wave would surely end on Friday and not Thursday as originally planned.

Spain and Portugal in the grip of the heat wave

© / afp.com/Nalini LEPETIT-CHELLA, Guillermo RIVAS PACHECO, Valentina BRESCHI

“The average temperature reached in Spain on Wednesday will probably be a record for this date since 1950. It will probably be one of the five hottest days for a month of August in the last 73 years”, predicts the Aemet.

Eleven provinces are on red alert, synonymous with extreme danger: three in Andalusia (South), two in the Madrid region, two in Castile-La Mancha (center), three in the Basque Country (North) and one in Castile-and- Leon (North).

Almost all of the rest of the country, except its coasts, is on alert but at lower levels. Experts consider the multiplication of these heat waves, as well as their increasing duration and intensity, as consequences of climate change.

The region of Extremadura affected

In addition, dozens of Spanish firefighters are still fighting the flames in Extremadura (southwest), a region neighboring Portugal, with the help of more than a dozen aircraft.

The regional government has indicated that the evolution of the fire, which broke out on Monday in the municipality of Valencia de Alcántara, was “favorable” on Wednesday morning.

A first assessment counts 350 hectares affected, which makes it the third largest fire in recent days in Spain, after a forest fire which burned 573 hectares in Portbou, in Catalonia (North-East) and another which has affected 450 near Bonares, Andalusia (South).

15,000 hectares burned in Portugal

In Portugal, the heat and the wind have favored the progression of fires having decimated more than 15,000 hectares in recent days. The blaze in the Odemira region (South), which has already ravaged nearly 10,000 hectares according to a latest civil protection report, continues to progress for the fifth consecutive day, mobilizing nearly 1,100 firefighters supported by 11 aircraft, according to the National Civil Protection Authority. Nearly 1,500 people were evacuated.

Up to 14 fires remain active in the south of Portugal in fires that have already devastated 7,000 hectares and left 1,400 evacuees and 22 assisted.

????The images in the video correspond to the Castelo Branco forest fire, near Cáceres. pic.twitter.com/6zMTCiRyvs

– Eltiempo.es (@ElTiempoes) August 8, 2023

However, firefighters are hoping for an improvement in the situation on Wednesday thanks to better weather conditions. The forecasts count on an increase in the humidity of the air and a drop in temperatures, particularly on the coast, where they should fall below 30°C.