Nearly 50C: Southern Spain set to sizzle in historic heatwave
Spain’s first heatwave of the year will start this weekend with temperatures expected to near 50C in Andalusia, according to meteorologists.
After a relatively mild June and a drop in temperatures in the northern half of the country on Tuesday and Wednesday, the customary calor of the summer is scheduled to land in most of Spain.
Starting on Thursday, July 8th, the mercury will start rising to reach the mid-forties in parts of central and southern Spain by Saturday.
By Sunday the whole southern half of Spain is expected to have to endure temperatures above 40C.
The following map shared by French meteorologist Guillaume Séchet shows how the so-called ‘heat dome’ will mean temperatures of around 47C in Andalusian cities such as Seville, Huelva, Ecija, and Jerez and in areas of the Castilla-La Mancha region.
This meteorological phenomenon is reported to have caused temperatures as high as 46C in Canada over the past days, reportedly leading to hundreds of deaths.
“It’s a desert heat — very dry and hot,” David Phillips, a senior climatologist for Environment Canada, told AFP.
“Canada is the second coldest country in the world and the snowiest,” he said. “We often see cold snaps and blizzards but not often do we talk about hot weather like this.”
Spain’s national weather agency AEMET recently warned that July, August, and September this year will be hotter than average.
The highest temperature recorded in Spain was on July 13th, 2017 in Montoro (Córdoba, Andalusia): 47.3 C.
Yellow and orange alerts for temperatures above 30C have also been activated in Aragon, the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Galicia, Murcia, the Basque Country, La Rioja, the Valencia region, the Canary Islands, and Navarra for the upcoming weekend.
But in Murcia, Andalusia, and the Valencia region the temperatures on Tuesday are already in the high thirties.
Fortunately, this scorching heatwave will not last too long, four days from Saturday to Tuesday.
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Published the local.com 07 July 2021