Peak heat in Spain and thousands of hectares burned in Portugal: the Iberian Peninsula, on the front line of global warming in Europe, is on alert on Wednesday and could break temperature records.
This episode of heat wave, the third of the summer, should reach its peak on Wednesday in Spain, with temperatures which could go up to 44°C in places, according to the National Meteorological Agency (Aemet). She announced that this heat wave would surely end on Friday, and not Thursday as originally planned.
“The average temperature reached in Spain on Wednesday will probably be a record for this date since 1950. It will probably be one of the five hottest days for a month of August in the last 73 years”, predicts the Aemet.
Eleven areas are on red alert, synonymous with extreme danger: three in Andalusia (south), two in the Madrid region, two in Castilla-La Mancha (center), three in the Basque Country (north) and one in Castilla-et- Leon (north).
Almost all of the rest of the country, except its coasts, is on alert, but at lower levels.
Thursday, the epicenter of the heat wave will move to the east coast, with only four areas on red alert, all located south of Valencia, in the eponymous region, where temperatures can reach 43°C. On Friday, Andalusia will suffer the most, but without a maximum alert level.
Experts consider the multiplication of these heat waves, as well as their increasing duration and intensity, as consequences of climate change.
The Iberian Peninsula is heavily hit by global warming, heat waves and the drought that it causes or accentuates, favoring fires.
In less than a week, around 15,000 hectares have burned in the two countries, especially in Portugal, where the fires leave behind desolate landscapes.
The fire in the Odemira region (south) was declared “under control” Wednesday noon, after ravaging 8,400 hectares in five days according to a new report, said the commander of civil protection Vitor Vaz Pinto during a conference Press.
A thousand firefighters, supported by 359 vehicles and fifteen aircraft, however, remain mobilized due to “possible reactivations during the day”.
Nearly 1,500 people were evacuated and 42 people were treated by emergency services. On Wednesday morning, firefighters had predicted an improvement due to better weather conditions.
The forecasts count on an increase in the humidity of the air and a drop in temperatures, particularly on the coast, where they should fall below 30°C.
However, the risk of fire remains significant, with temperatures expected to vary between 32 and 38°C in the interior of the country.
In Spain, almost the entire country is on red alert for the extreme risk of fire.
In Extremadura (southwest), a region neighboring Portugal, dozens of firefighters are still fighting the flames with the help of more than a dozen aircraft.
The regional government said Wednesday evening that the fire, which broke out on Monday in the municipality of Valencia de Alcántara, was now “stabilized”.
“We evacuated the clients to a hotel in Alcántara, but here we are worried and anxious, because we have a huge forest, with century-old oaks and that makes us very sad”, testified Joaquín Dieguez, owner of a rural lodging nearby.
A first assessment reports 350 hectares affected, making it the third largest fire in recent days in Spain, after a forest fire which burned 573 hectares in Portbou, in Catalonia (northeast), and another which affected 450 near Bonares, Andalusia (south).
Nearly 100,000 hectares have already gone up in smoke in 2023 in Spain and Portugal, according to provisional reports, compared to more than 400,000 in total in 2022.
09/08/2023 21:42:49 – Madrid (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
