The weather office in Spain reported the warmest April temperature ever recorded: 38.8 degrees Celsius, indicating alarming weather conditions globally.
For days, the Spanish have been sweltering under temperatures that are 10 to 15 degrees Celsius higher than normal for April. A slow-moving weather system and a large quantity of extremely hot air from Africa have been driving factors.
The severity of the current heat wave in southern Spain has shocked meteorologists. Extreme, never-before-seen temperatures for April have been recorded during this heat wave in Spain. According to scientist and operator of the Twitter account Extreme Temperatures, Maximiliano Herrera, “in some locations records are being beaten by a 5C margin, something that has happened only a handful of times at weather stations around the world.”
“This is not the usual; this year’s temperatures are completely out of control.” Cayetano Torres, a spokesperson for Spain’s meteorological service, told BBC News.
Schools might change their schedules to avoid the hottest parts of the day. Public swimming pools in Madrid are scheduled to open a month earlier than usual, and the metro has increased train frequency to reduce platform wait times.
Cristina Linares, a researcher at the Carlos III Health Institute, issued a warning that highlighted the effects on the poor. “Poverty is the primary element in explaining why more fatalities occur during periods of excessive heat.” Daily fatalities due to heat had the strongest correlation with income.
Extreme heatwaves are occurring in many parts of the world as a result of the amplified effects of climate change. An undersea cable will provide electricity from wind farms in the North Sea to the United Kingdom. In 1903, one of the windiest storms on record hit Britain. While some areas of Britain are experiencing cooler-than-average temperatures, the opposite is true in many parts of Spain.
Expert meteorologists attribute this week’s unusually high temperatures to a confluence of circumstances. Heat from North Africa is being transferred to Europe. Due to a high pressure weather system and the clear sky, more sunlight is reaching the earth on the Iberian Peninsula, which is so parched that it cannot absorb any more heat.
High temperatures are affecting Seville as a heatwave sweeps through Spain. There has been a long-term drought in many regions of Spain. Fewer than half of the basin’s reservoirs are being used currently. The national meteorological service has warned that this combination increases the likelihood of early forest fires throughout broad portions of the country. The year 2022 saw more land burned in Spain than any other European nation.
Experts agree that climate change is undoubtedly contributing to the current heat wave. According to Dr. Samantha Burgess from the Copernicus climate change agency, “We know that 2022 was the second warmest year on record for Europe, and it was the warmest summer on record.” The pace of warming in Europe is double the world average, and we know that as temperatures rise faster, more severe weather is likely to occur. Heat waves are an example of a severe weather phenomenon.
Temperature deviations are predicted for the week of April 24–May 1 in southwest Europe and northwest Africa relative to the average of the last 20 years. Temperatures are 6–10 degrees Celsius (or more) above average over most of Spain. The north of Morocco and the north of Algeria also experience higher-than-average temperatures.
The effects on agriculture are a worry, in addition to the effects on children and the elderly. Due to the persistent drought, many farmers are having trouble making ends meet, and the government in Madrid has asked the European Union for financial assistance.
Concerns about crop failure have been raised by several landowners, who claim they will not grow crops this year because of the dry weather. The current heatwave in Spain is not an exception; the first few months of this year have seen record-breaking temperatures all around the globe.
Due to a prolonged drought, water levels in several Spanish reservoirs are dangerously low. On the first day of this year, eight nations in central and eastern Europe saw their hottest January on record.
Recent weeks have brought record temperatures to several countries in Asia. On April 15th, the thermometer in northwest Thailand read 45.4 degrees Celsius, while in Laos it reached 42.7 degrees Celsius.
It was the warmest day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, in 58 years, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius. The expected commencement of an El Nio event is another element that will impact global weather during the next several months.
“It seems we are living in a world of a new normal here,” said Dr. Fahad Saeed of the research organization Climate Analytics. People in places like Asia have spent millennia adjusting to scorching heat, but the current conditions are putting a strain on even them. “That’s why there’s been a steady increase in heat-related deaths here in recent years.”
As a result, warmer water will begin to surface in the Pacific Ocean near Peru. If this occurs, 2024 may end up being the hottest year on record, with more extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods.
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