The exceptionally early heatwave Spain experienced peaked on Thursday, a situation worrying authorities in that country on the front lines of global warming in Europe.
• Also read: Catastrophic drought in Spain: peaks at 40°C expected
“It is very likely that the peak of this episode will be reached on Thursday and Friday,” said the Spanish Weather Agency (Aemet), referring to “highs closer to those of early July and general records for a month of April.” .
By 15:00 GMT, the thermometer had already risen to 38.7°C in Cordoba (south) and 37.8°C in the province of Seville, according to readings from Aemet, which revised its forecast after mentioning 40°C revised at the beginning of the week.
In Seville, where fans and umbrellas are out, front-line workers are already being bothered by the hot weather.
“It’s extremely hot, we’re always looking for shade and water,” says Juan Benito, a 33-year-old waiter in the Andalusian capital.
“Due to its intensity and its early nature”, the episode observed since Monday “falls within the framework of the consequences of climate change”, underlined Ruben Del Campo, spokesman for Aemet, for whom “it is possible that ‘April 2023 (.. .) is one of the two hottest April months on record.
While in Valence (east) some tourists were happy to be able to go to the beach, residents were on the contrary worried. Ramón Cabanyal, 66, said he wanted “to make[his]entourage aware that what we’re going through is something that needs to be stopped.”
In this context, the Spanish authorities are forced to adapt and the Ministry of Health has proposed to the regions with wide powers to bring forward the activation of their thermal plan, previously scheduled for June 1st, to May 15th.
These plans determine the different risk levels for the most vulnerable population depending on the temperatures.
That of Madrid has already announced on Wednesday the activation of its plan, which notably provides for the possibility of adjusting school timetables, which usually occurs from June.
Episodes of exceptionally high temperatures have multiplied in recent years in Spain, a frontline European country where nearly 75% of its territory is at risk of desertification, according to the UN.
According to Aemet, the country experienced its hottest year on record last year, with multiple heat waves beginning in May.
The number of days with summer temperatures in Spain fell from 90 to 145 between 1971 and 2022, according to a study published on Tuesday by the Polytechnic University of Catalonia.
Also during this period, daytime heatwaves multiplied sevenfold and nighttime by almost eleven, while the temperature in the main Spanish cities rose by an average of 3.54ºC.
Temperatures aside, Spain, which exports much of its agricultural production to the rest of Europe, is facing a catastrophic drought that is worrying farmers and authorities.
According to Coag, the largest farmers’ union, 60% of Spanish farmland is currently ‘choked’ by lack of rain.
Dry soil and very high temperatures form an explosive cocktail that increases the risk of fire.
Most of the territory was therefore on Thursday on alert by the Aemet for “very high” or “extreme” fire risk, while the Interior Ministry called an extraordinary coordination meeting with the regions on the issue.
Spain is already at a record for burnt areas since the beginning of the year, with more than 54,000 hectares compared to 17,126 hectares in the same period of 2022, a record year for fires, according to the European Forest Fire Information System (Effis).
Neighboring Portugal is also affected by this early heat wave. Temperatures, which are “10 to 15 degrees Celsius above normal,” could reach 37 degrees there on Thursday, after a maximum of 35.4 degrees on Wednesday in the south of the country, according to the national meteorological institute.