Spain is in the grip of its first heat wave of the year, with temperatures in parts of the west and south expected to reach 44C (111.2F).
Heat waves – defined as at least three consecutive days with above-average temperatures recorded for July and August 1971-2000 – are becoming more frequent and start earlier, according to Aemet, the Spanish Meteorological Service. “We are facing unusually high temperatures for June,” said Ruben del Campo, a spokesman for Aemet.
The heat wave, caused by the anticyclone Alex and the mass of very hot air over North Africa, is expected to last at least until Tuesday and is the third earliest in history. The last time a heat wave arrived so early was in 1981.
Next is the hottest May in history, with temperatures last month three degrees above average.
Aemet estimates that global warming means that summer in Spain begins 20 to 40 days earlier than 50 years ago. There have been 10 June heat waves since 1975, five of them since 2011, and if we assume that this lasts for three days, there will be a heat wave in June every two years for the last 12 years.
Last year was the hottest and driest in Spain, with temperatures reaching a record 47.4 degrees Celsius in Montoro in the southern province of Cordoba. In general, the average temperature in the whole country is 0.5C above the average for 1981-2010. And 2021 was not a one-off, but the last in a series of hot years.
“For the first time we see eight consecutive years with temperatures above average,” said Del Campo. “There’s a clear tendency for things to get hotter.”
These hot years are not compared to cold ones. In the last 10 years, only 14 extremely cold days have been registered, compared to 146 extremely hot days.
With little time to acclimatize to normal temperatures in mid-summer, people are at greater risk of heat stroke, dizziness and headaches. It will also be harder to fall asleep, with night temperatures of 25 ° C – officially “upper nights”, according to Aemet – or in some areas 30 ° C, known as “hell nights”.
A study conducted last year in cities in Spain, Portugal, France and Italy found a link between mortality and high night temperatures.
The Spanish Ministry of Health has warned people to stay indoors as much as possible and to avoid exercising during the hottest part of the day. People are also urged to drink plenty of water and avoid alcohol.
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