At a quarter past five this Thursday have been recorded 38.7 degrees at the airport of Cordoba, absolute record temperature in an April in the Peninsula.

The current episode of "exceptionally high temperatures" more typical of the beginning of summer than the final stretch of April had brought this Thursday the first heat warning of the year in Spain. Specifically, in the Cordoban countryside, where the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) had predicted temperatures of at least 38 degrees.

The prediction of the Aemet indicated yellow warning -risk for outdoor activities- for this Thursday between 12.00 and 20.00 hours in that area of Córdoba, the first that has received such consideration so far this year in Spain.

That forecast has been fulfilled because the airport of Cordoba marked 38.7 degrees at 17:10 p.m., which is a new record for the hottest day in April in the capital of Cordoba since 1959, the year in which the historical series of temperatures begins in that place.

One of the aspects that certify this anomalous summer in April is that the first day with a heat warning does not usually arrive so soon (June 1, 2010, May 12, 2014, June 8, 2016, May 25, 2017, June 17, 2018, May 31, 2019, May 22, 2020, May 16, 2021 and May 17, 2022, for example).

This unusually warm episode could translate into the hottest April days since at least 1950 and could push thermometers to 40 degrees for the first time this year.

This situation is due to "the arrival of a mass of very warm air from low latitudes and that will travel through North Africa" before reaching Spain, according to Rubén del Campo, spokesman for the Aemet, who added: "It will also help to reach such high temperatures the situation of atmospheric stability and the strong insolation of the sun, which is high on the horizon and warms up strongly at this time if the skies are clear."

The peak of African heat arrives this Thursday and Friday, with "temperatures typical of the end of June", when the values could be between 10 and 15 degrees above normal for this time of year. "The episode will be so intense that, with the prediction currently available, it is likely that all days between April 25 and 30 (both included) will be a warm day record: they could be the warmest days for those dates since at least 1950," highlights the Aemet.

  • Córdoba
  • Heat wave

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