It is now in Spain and Portugal that the mercury is rising.

The two countries have entered a heat wave at least until Monday, with very high risk of fires in much of the peninsula, authorities in both countries warned Thursday.

These fire risks are all the more worrying in Spain and Portugal as the Mediterranean basin has been the scene for several weeks of devastating fires, especially in Greece and Algeria.

Up to 45 ° C expected

In Spain, the fire risk is rated "extreme" in much of the country on Thursday and Friday, according to the National Meteorological Agency (AEMET), which has yet to release its risk forecast for the following days.

In Portugal, the fire alert is "maximum" between Thursday and Monday in the northern and central regions of the interior of the country, as well as part of the Algarve (south), Météo Portugal reported.

These risks are caused by a heat wave that will see the mercury flirt with 40 ° C at least until Monday in much of the peninsula, with clearly higher peaks in several regions, notably the Guadalquivir valley (south of Spain), where temperatures could reach up to 45 ° C.

On Wednesday, temperatures reached 42 ° C in the province of Ciudad Real (central Spain), according to AEMET measurements.

For its part, the very touristic region of Catalonia (north-eastern Spain) has banned camping in the forest and sporting activities in rural areas, as well as certain mechanical agricultural activities at certain times, in order to limit the risks of fire.

The eruption of a mass of very hot air from northern Africa

For the first time since 1920, the famous Retiro Park, very popular with Madrid residents looking for a shady spot, should display more than 40 ° C for three consecutive days, from Friday to Sunday, the spokesperson said. word of AEMET, Rubén del Campo, on Twitter.

These temperatures, far above seasonal norms, are due to the irruption of a mass of very hot air from northern Africa, combined with strong solar exposure, the two meteorological agencies explained.

Between 2011 and 2020, Spain recorded twice as many heat waves as in each of the previous three decades, Rubén del Campo told AFP.

An unequivocal effect of climate change

Scientists see repeated heat waves as an unequivocal effect of global warming and believe that these heat waves are bound to multiply, lengthen and intensify.

"In Spain, we are not immune from this danger," Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez warned on Wednesday of the fires, adding that the country had entered "a risk zone" due to the arrival. of this heat wave.

He also called on his compatriots "to be very careful" to limit the risk of fires.

Portugal, which in 2017 experienced deadly fires that claimed more than a hundred victims, "does not want to know this scenario again", insisted Wednesday its Prime Minister, Antonio Costa.

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