2023-04-27 20:15:00
The exceptionally early heat wave in Spain will reach its peak today and tomorrow. This is reported by the Spanish State Meteorological Agency Aemet. In the south of the country, record temperatures of 37 degrees are expected for the month of April. Similar temperatures are also measured in Portugal.
“The mass of very warm and dry air from North Africa has raised temperatures since the beginning of the week to summer-worthy levels. The mercury is exceptionally high for this period,” the agency said. Today temperatures rose to 34 degrees in the south of the country and even to 37 degrees in the valley of the Guadalquivir in Andalusia. In weather stations in Andalusia and the provinces of Seville and Huelva, the mercury already exceeded 37 degrees yesterday.
The heat wave comes in an abnormally warm and dry spring: a catastrophe for agriculture, the mainstay of the Spanish economy. According to the Coordinating Committee of Farmers’ and Livestock Farmers’ Organizations (COAG), the main farmers’ union, 60 percent of Spain’s farmland is currently “suffocated” by the lack of rainfall.
Heat plan advanced
In that light, the Spanish government asked the European Commission to activate the ‘crisis reserve’ of the common agricultural policy. The government will also give farmers a fiscal boost. Finally, the Ministry of Health proposed to the regions that the national heat plan should take effect on May 15 (instead of June 1).
Some farmers have even decided not to plant any crops, as it would be pointless. Madrid has set up a number of tax breaks for them. The government also wants to claim a crisis fund from the European Union.
Drinking water shortage
In the province of Cordoba, some 80,000 inhabitants are without drinking water because the nearby reservoir is completely dry and the water from another dam is not safe for consumption. Water is delivered by trucks and each resident receives a maximum of five liters of water per day.
While Spain’s reservoirs are on average at 50 percent of their capacity, levels in Andalusia and the northeastern region of Catalonia have fallen to about 25 percent.
Spain must cope with the consequences of climate change. According to the United Nations, almost three quarters of Spain’s territory is affected by desertification. Last year, Spain also experienced its hottest year since measurements began, with several heat waves. Even then there were many forest fires, but this year there are already more than in the same period last year.
Portugal and France
Portugal is also plagued by extremely high temperatures. In the district of Evora, the Portuguese heat record of 37 degrees from 1945 is expected to be broken today. The authorities have declared three municipalities in the Algarve as municipalities with a maximum risk of forest fires.
France plans to have seaplanes and firefighting services ready as early as June 1, a month earlier than usual, due to the increased risk of wildfires starting earlier than in the past due to climate change.
Horse of tourist attraction collapses in Spanish heat wave and dies in the street
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