Spain: heat record and maximum fire risk alert | Record of 47.4 degrees in the south of the country

The intense heatwave that affects the Iberian Peninsula this Saturday broke the record for the maximum absolute temperature recorded in Spain, with 47.4 degrees reached in a city of Cordoba in the south of the country, according to provisional measures from the Meteorological Agency State (Aemet), while the risk of fire increases over almost the entire territory.

The peak was reached after 5 p.m. local time in the municipality of Montoro, in the Alto Guadalquivir, when the thermometers of an automatic station in Aemet recorded 47.4 degrees, a tenth above the record measurement that the same. place had recorded on July 13, 2017, as reported by the AFP news agency.

“If confirmed, would be the highest record measured reliably in Spain“said Aemet spokesperson Rubén del Campo.

The intense heatwave that hits Spain will continue strong this Sunday, with five regions still on high alert for extreme temperatures, and six others in orange.

Although the pressure has already dropped in part of the peninsula, it could now exceed 45 degrees in parts of the Guadalquivir valley, according to Del Campo, who considers that this heat wave “because of the temperatures reached, is probably one of the most intense in Spain”.

Likewise, the combination of the high heat with the noticeable entry of airborne dust has also triggered the risk of fires in Spain, which keeps almost all of its territory on maximum alert.

For the moment, the declared fires worry in Azuébar, a town in the interior of the Valencian Community, whose neighbors had to be evicted as a precaution on Saturday evening.

Twelve planes, including planes and helicopters, according to the regional government, have joined the fight to put out the blaze that threatens part of the Sierra de Espadán Natural Park.

Another fire remains uncontrolled in the vicinity of Navalacruz, province of Ávila, where several towns had to be evacuated preventively.

Between 2011 and 2020, Spain recorded twice as many heat waves as in the previous three decades, according to Aemet.

Scientists consider it to be unequivocal effect of global warming and they believe that this type of heat wave will multiply and intensify in the future.