2023-07-18 02:40:28
Spain has been suffocating again since Monday, with temperatures that have sometimes exceeded 44 degrees and “abnormally high” for the season, observed the national meteorological agency (Aemet), while the fire on the island of La Palma evolves favorably.
The mercury notably exceeded 44 degrees late Monday afternoon in several towns in the Andalusian provinces of Cordoba and Jaen in the south of the country, and measured the Aemet, on the first day of the third heat wave of the summer in Spain, just a few days after the previous one.
Temperatures “5 to 10 ° C above average”
The measurement of 47 degrees in Villarrobledo, initially published on the Aemet website, was then described as “doubtful” by the agency itself a few hours later on Twitter, considering that it was necessary “to wait before to validate “.
Very high temperatures this Monday in large areas of the country. Temperatures have exceeded 44ºC in points in the provinces of Córdoba and Jaén.
The data of 47 ºC from Villarrobledo (Albacete) is, in principle, suspicious and will have to be analyzed before considering it as good. pic.twitter.com/f8MTXOI4rO— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) July 17, 2023
Spain is thus facing its third heat wave of the summer, just a few days after the previous one, and with “very high, unusual temperatures, even though we are already in the hottest period of the year. ‘year,” the Aemet explained on Twitter.
These “abnormally high” temperatures are on Monday “5 to 10 ° C above average in much of the interior of the peninsula and the Balearic Islands”. The situation will worsen on Tuesday since in some places, the mercury could be “between 10 to 15 ° C” above normal.
A fire in the Canary Islands
Object of all attention: the fire on the Spanish island of La Palma, in the Canary archipelago off northwest Africa, which broke out on Saturday morning and decreased in intensity on Sunday thanks to of a drop in temperature. Still fought by hundreds of firefighters, its evolution remains “favorable”, said the Ministry of Defense late Monday afternoon. The high temperatures could however complicate the fight of the firefighters, supported by several planes and helicopters.
In total, nearly 3,500 ha have burned, according to the latest estimate from civil protection, and 4,000 people had to be evacuated, most of whom have already been able to reach their homes, according to the authorities. The risk of fire remains “very high” or “extreme” in most of the country, the Interior Ministry warned on Monday.
In 2022, nearly 500 fires have devoured more than 300,000 ha in Spain, a record in Europe, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis). The year 2023 promises to be just as risky for this country hit hard by climate change with nearly 68,000 ha gone up in smoke since the start of the year.
The intense heat episode should last until Wednesday. From Thursday, temperatures are expected to drop. A sign of global warming, the harvest has already started in certain areas of Andalusia, two weeks in advance.
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