Spain’s August heatwave was ‘most intense on record’, weather agency says

AEMET says the 16-day August heatwave was portion of a ‘trend toward much utmost summers’ owed to clime change.

Spain suffered “the astir intense” heatwave connected grounds this month, the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has said, arsenic firefighters battled wildfires successful the northbound and westbound of the country.

In a connection connected Sunday, the bureau said that provisional readings for the August 3-18 heatwave exceeded the past record, acceptable successful July 2022, and showed an mean somesthesia 4.6 degrees Celsius (40.2 Fahrenheit) higher than the expected threshold.

AEMET noted that the astir caller heatwave, which saw temperatures scope 43C (109 F), is portion of an escalating signifier of warmer summers owed to the climate crisis.

“That 4 of the 5 astir aggravated vigor waves person occurred since 2019 is nary coincidence,” it said. “Not each summertime volition ever beryllium warmer than the erstwhile one, but the inclination toward much utmost summers is clear. The keys: adaptation and mitigation of clime change.”

Since it began its records successful 1975, AEMET has registered 77 heatwaves successful Spain, with six of them going 4C (39.2F) oregon much supra the average.

More than 1,100 deaths successful Spain person been linked to this year’s August heatwave, according to an estimation released connected Tuesday by the Carlos III Health Institute. The heatwave has besides exacerbated tinderbox conditions successful Spain, fuelling wildfires that proceed to ravage parts of the country.

Last week, the Spanish service deployed 3,400 troops and 50 craft to assistance firefighters, portion the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Slovakia besides sent hundreds of firefighters, vehicles and aircraft.

The fires person burned much than 382,000 hectares (944,000 acres) oregon astir 3,820 sq km (1,475 sq miles), according to the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System.

Most of Southern Europe is experiencing 1 of its worst wildfire seasons successful 2 decades.

Europe has been warming doubly arsenic accelerated arsenic the planetary mean since the 1980s, according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service.

Heatwaves and adust conditions, which scientists nexus to climate change, person go much predominant crossed the satellite successful caller years.

The World Health Organization has warned, “With clime alteration starring to warmer temperatures and drier conditions and the expanding urbanization of agrarian areas, the occurrence play is starting earlier and ending later.

“Wildfire events are getting much utmost successful presumption of acres burned, duration and intensity, and they tin disrupt transportation, communications, h2o supply, and powerfulness and state services.”

Source:

Al Jazeera and quality agencies