In Spain, a record and ominous heat wave

2,000 people were evacuated to escape a forest fire in Marbella, Malaga, Spain, June 9, 2022. © AP - Gregorio Marrero

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Since last weekend, Spain has been hit by a particularly aggressive heat wave.

Specialists from the meteorological agency, Aemet, highlight the fact that this is the earliest heat wave, in mid-June and therefore still in spring, ever recorded.

A chronic phenomenon that continues to intensify 

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With our correspondent in Spain,

Spain has already experienced many heat waves,

.

Weather officials in Spain say it is not only the earliest on record, but also the most intense.

These days, and especially in the plains of Andalusia, Extremadura and Castile Leon, staggering temperatures of 46, 47° celsius, even 47.5°, near Badajoz, have been recorded.

For some, the day is approaching when Spain will experience a record 50°, a temperature worthy of the Sahara desert.

►To listen: Heat wave in India: the survival of the poorest threatened by global warming

Because this new period of heat wave is part of a trend towards the intensification and acceleration of heat waves: if since 1975, ten heat waves have occurred in June, five of them have been observed since 2011 .

The episodes of heat waves are therefore more numerous and more intense and each time earlier and longer, lasting almost a week, or even longer.

In August 2021, already, a terrible heat wave had affected 36 of the 52 Spanish provinces.

The meteorological agency notes that this is the first time that we have recorded, over the whole of the year, temperatures above the average for eight consecutive years.

Which, of course, is accompanied by a significant drop in precipitation: in 2021, the amount of rainwater that fell on the peninsula was 11% lower than "

 ", calculated over the period spanning between 1981 and 2010. 

This first heatwave episode, and those that will follow this summer, generates risks against which it is important to guard.

All fire units have been put on alert, as the risk of fires is very high.

Nearly 3,800 hectares of forest have gone up in smoke in recent days in the region of Malaga, Andalusia.

fear of the winds

There are also fears of winds that would facilitate the spread of possible forest fires.

Several municipalities have strengthened their social services for the elderly and people with heart problems, others have intensified the use of public fountains so that the population can refresh themselves there.

.

One could imagine that air conditioning works everywhere.

However, this is not the case, due to the considerable increase in the price of electricity linked to the war in Ukraine.  

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