2023-04-24 20:13:20
The thermometer should be around 40°C in Andalusia, unheard of in April. Spain is preparing for an early heat wave that is expected to affect the whole country this week, with temperatures peaking on Thursday and Friday.
In a statement, the Spanish Meteorological Agency evokes the gradual arrival of “a mass of very hot and dry air, of African origin, on the peninsula and the Balearic Islands”. Temperatures will thus be close to “typical and exceptionally high summer values for this time of year” between 30 and 35°C over most of the country.
But in the south of Spain, the authorities are already on alert, because these temperatures “will be greatly exceeded in the Guadalquivir valley, where they could even reach up to 40ºC”.
Minimum temperatures will also be abnormally high throughout the country, particularly in Andalusia, where there may be nights when the thermometer will not drop below 20 ºC. Temperatures should gradually decrease on Saturday and Sunday, but values above 30°C are still to be expected.
Values 6 to 10 degrees above normal for the season
This episode of heat is particularly early. The average temperatures expected are between 6 and 10 degrees above seasonal norms in most of Spain, reports The country. In some areas, we will exceed 10 degrees above normal. The thermometer should show temperatures normally recorded from mid-June.
Spain has already experienced this type of episodes, as in April 2011, when 37.4°C was recorded in Murcia, or in 1997, when thermometers in Seville showed 35.4°C at the same time. Forecasts suggest, however, that these benchmarks will be exceeded, and it is quite possible that many monthly heat records will be broken.
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