2023-04-27 17:40:24
An intense heat wave has hit Spain, as the country experiences temperatures normally seen in the height of summer.
Meteorologists fear that the temperature will exceed 38 degrees Celsius on Thursday, which is the highest temperature recorded in the country in April.
This represents a rise of between 10 and 15 degrees Celsius more than expected for this time of year.
The rise in temperature was caused by a mass of very hot air from Africa.
Temperatures reached 37C in Seville on Wednesday, but are expected to peak near 40C in the south of the Guadalquivir river valley that includes the city of Cordoba.
Caetano Torres, a spokesman for Spain’s Met Office, told BBC News: “We are very worried. It was the hottest temperature yesterday (for this time of year) in at least 20 places. It’s not normal. The temperatures are completely out of control this year.” “.
Schools will be allowed to adjust their schedules to avoid extreme temperatures. Madrid’s subway trains run more frequently than usual in order to prevent long waits on the platform, and public swimming pools are expected to open a month earlier than usual.
Cristina Linares, of the Carlos III Health Institute, warned in particular of the impact on the poor.
“Poverty is the key factor when it comes to explaining why there are more deaths related to extreme temperatures,” she said. “Income is the factor closest to the effect of heat on daily deaths.”
Heatwaves are also hitting many locations globally, as climate change exacerbates naturally high temperatures.
And although parts of Britain are cooler than average right now, the opposite is the case in many parts of Spain.
Meteorologists say a combination of factors is responsible for the exceptional temperatures there this week.
Hot weather in North Africa is pushing the heat into Europe. The high-pressure weather system, combined with clear skies over the Iberian Peninsula, allows more sunlight to hit the land, which is already too dry to evaporate the heat.
The previous highest temperature for April in Spain was 37.4°C, recorded in Murcia in 2011.
The high temperatures come with a long-running drought in many parts of Spain, and reservoirs in the Guadalquivir river basin are operating at only 25 percent of capacity.
The combination increases the potential for early wildfires, with the National Weather Service warning that large swathes of the country are at risk. Spain saw the highest number of scorched lands of any country in Europe in 2022.
It is very likely that climate change will play a role in this heat wave, according to experts in the field.
Dr Samantha Burgess, of the Copernicus Climate Change Service, told the BBC: “We know that 2022 was the second warmest year on record for Europe, and it was the hottest summer on record.”
She added, “Temperatures are rising in Europe at twice the global rate, and we know that the reason for this is the high rate of climate change, and there is a greater possibility of extreme events. These extreme events include heat waves.”
Another concern is agriculture. Many farmers are struggling due to the constant lack of rainfall. The government in Madrid is asking the European Union for financial assistance.
Some landowners say they will not plant crops because of the drought, which could have ramifications for food supplies across Europe.
And this heatwave in Spain was not an isolated event, with record-breaking high temperatures around the world in the first few months of this year.
Eight countries in central and eastern Europe recorded their all-time highs for the warmest weather in January on the first day of this year.
Countries across Asia have experienced sweltering heat in recent weeks. In northwest Thailand, the temperature reached 45.4 degrees Celsius on April 15, while in Laos it reached 42.7 degrees Celsius.
In Bangladesh, the capital, Dhaka, witnessed temperatures exceeding 40 degrees Celsius, and it is believed to be the hottest day in 58 years.
Another factor that could affect the weather around the world in the coming months is the possibility of an El Niño event.
This will cause temperatures to rise even further in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Peru. If that happens, 2024 could emerge as the world’s warmest year, with more storms, fires and floods.
“This seems to be the norm now,” said Dr. Fahad Saeed of the research organization Climate Analytics.
“These people in regions like Asia are people who have adapted to extreme temperatures like this for thousands of years, but now the situation is beyond their ability to adapt,” he said.
“That’s why we see higher rates of heat-related deaths every year in this part of the world.”
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