MADRID, July 10, 2023 (AFP) – Temperatures were soaring across Spain on Monday with the mercury set to touch 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit) in the south as the country braced for its second heatwave in a fortnight.
The AEMET weather agency said the heat was caused by a mass of hot air arriving from North Africa, indicating it would last until at least Wednesday, with the southern Andalusia region expected to be worst hit.
“The heat will be very intense on both Monday and Tuesday in most of the peninsular as well as the Balearic isles, with temperatures of between 38C and 40C in much of the country and 42C and 44C in parts of Andalusia and (the northeastern region of) Aragon,” said AEMET spokesman Ruben del Campo.
Spain’s first heatwave of the summer began two weeks ago on June 26 with the mercury pushing above 44C in parts of Andalusia, with the intense heat claiming several lives.
Last year, Spain experienced its hottest summer on record since records began in 1916, with soaring temperatures directly responsible for more than 350 deaths from heatstroke and dehydration, figures from the National Statistics Institute (INE) show.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, Europe is the world’s fastest-warming continent, and experts say Spain is likely to be one of the countries worst hit by climate change.
Although it has become accustomed to soaring summer temperatures, notably in the south, Spain has experienced an uptick in longer and hotter heatwaves and a worrying shortage of rainfall.