spain will experience an exceptional heat wave for this time of year in the coming days, with highs of 40 degrees expected for the southern region of Andalusiawhile the country suffers a prolonged drought with very serious consequences for agriculture.
It is expected that for a week the thermometer of the Iberian country, which is going through its spring, will reach temperatures “typical of summer and exceptionally high for these dates”, warned in a statement the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).
This heat wave is part of an unusually hot and dry spring in Spain, especially in Catalonia (northeast), which is facing its worst drought in decades, where authorities have already issued orders to reduce water use.
According to AEMET, temperatures will exceed 30 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday in much of the south of the country, with possible highs of 35 degrees in Andalusia, as well as in the regions of Valencia y Murciaon the Mediterranean coast.
This heat wave, linked to the “progressive entry of a mass of very warm and dry air, of African origin, over the Peninsula and the Balearic Islands”will reach its peak at the end of the week in the south of the country, the public body specified.
Then they will continue to climb, reaching “usually 35 degrees” on Thursday and Friday in the southern half of the country and in the Ebro valley (northeast), and up to “40 degrees” are expected in the Guadalquivir valley, in Andalusia, which means between 6 degrees and 10 degrees above the norm of the time.
In some places, even will be between “15 and 20 degrees” above normal values by the end of April, agency spokesman Rubén del Campo said on Twitter.
Due to the lack of precipitationrainfed reservoirs are at only a quarter of their capacity in the region, according to local authorities, and many farmers have had to give up planting in recent weeks.
According to data from the European Copernicus service published on Thursday, Europe, where temperatures rise twice the global average, experienced its hottest summer since records began in 1950.
