MADRID: Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) said on Sunday that the heatwave in August has been the most intense ever recorded, both in terms of temperatures and its effects, reported Xinhua.
Preliminary data show that between August 3 and 18, average temperatures were 4.6 degrees Celsius above the seasonal norm, exceeding the previous record of 4.5 degrees set in July 2022.
AEMET reported that August 8-17 was the hottest 10-day stretch since at least 1950, while the first 20 days of the month were the warmest for that period since at least 1961. Additionally, August 11, 16, and 17 rank among the 10 hottest days recorded in Spain since 1941.
Since record-keeping began in 1975, Spain has endured 77 heatwaves. In six of them, temperatures rose more than 4 degrees Celsius above average – five of which have occurred since 2019 – highlighting a trend toward increasingly long and intense heatwaves.
According to the government’s Daily Mortality Monitoring System, this year’s heatwaves have caused 1,149 deaths.
In addition, the extreme heat coincided with Spain’s worst month of wildfires on record. Data from the European Forest Fire Information System show that 406,100 hectares of land, roughly 5.5 times the size of Singapore, have been scorched.
The fires have claimed four lives and forced over 30,000 people to evacuate. Most evacuees have since returned, but many wildfires remained active as of Sunday. – BERNAMA-XINHUA
