Neighboring France and Spain have seen a heat wave in recent days, intensified by the climate emergency, which can lead to peaks of 40°C and has already triggered fires.
Approximately a quarter of French territory is under surveillance this Thursday (16), when it is expected to reach 40°C after days in which the thermometers reached 30 and 35°C. The city of Bordeaux has installed nebulizers in places dubbed “ovens” by citizens. Lyon has extended the opening hours of public parks.
Meteorologist Olivier Proust, from the National Weather Service, told the AFP news agency that, in addition to the climate crisis, the recent wave stems from the state of the soil after a particularly dry spring and winter in the region.
This is the fourth time that the red surveillance zone scheme has been adopted by Paris since 2003, when the system was implemented after a historic heat wave that, according to figures compiled by the newspaper Le Monde, killed more than 15 people. thousand people, especially the elderly, in the country.
In Spain, where thermometers have already reached 40°C in some locations, the situation is even more worrying. Three forest fires have devastated 1,600 hectares of pine trees and shrubs in the east of the country since Wednesday (15).
Hundreds of firefighters are trying to control the blaze with more than 120 trucks and 19 aircraft in cities such as Baldomar, Corbera d’Ebre and Castellar Ribera, the Catalonia fire department said.
The State Meteorological Agency projects that the heat wave should last until this Saturday (18). Spain has seen the hottest month of May since the beginning of the century and has already experienced four episodes of extreme temperature waves in the last ten months.
This, however, was considered the first heat wave in the country in about 40 years. Meteorologists said the wind chill could be exacerbated by the presence of sand in the air coming from the Sahara.
Until the beginning of this month, the area burned in Spain was 34% smaller than that recorded in the same period last year and the smallest since 2018. But since last week, the combination of hot weather and wind has multiplied the fires in Spanish territory. Even nighttime temperatures are high, ranging from 20°C to 25°C.
Still, hundreds of worshipers and tourists crowded the narrow streets of the city of Toledo this Thursday morning to participate in the traditional Corpus Christi procession, with thermometers almost reaching 40°C during the event. City Hall delivered 10,000 bottles of water to citizens and placed tarpaulins to protect them from high temperatures.
