Heatwave in Spain intensifies, wildfire risk surges

MURCIA, Spain

Friday marks day seven of Spain’s abnormally intense pre-summer heatwave, and the unrelenting heat is only getting worse in large swathes of the country.

More than 33 million people in Spain -- around 70% of the country’s population -- have recently been coping with extreme heat.

Temperatures are easily surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in large parts of the country, from northeastern valleys to central Andalusia in the south.

For much of central and southern Spain, nights provide little relief, with minimum temperatures hovering around 25 degrees Celsius (77 degrees Fahrenheit).

On Friday, the city of Valencia handily broke its record for the hottest day ever recorded in June, according to Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET.

The week of scorching, dry conditions has brought the wildfire risk in the vast majority of Spain to “extreme” levels, according to AEMET as dozens of blazes have already broken out in the past few days.

The most troubling wildfire on Friday has broken out in the Zamora province, where 9,000 hectares of land have been scorched by flames and 250 people from eight towns have been forced to evacuate their homes.

Another large fire continues to rage in the Catalan province of Lleida.

Preliminary data from AEMET suggest that this is the most intense heatwave Spain has ever faced in June. It is also one of the earliest official heatwaves on record.

However, climate scientists warn that this extreme heat will be the new normal if greenhouse gas emissions are not cut dramatically.

According to data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), days with temperatures above 40 degrees in Spain in June have been exceptionally rare.

Between 1995-2014, there were no 40-degree days in Madrid in June, and only an average of 0.2 in Seville.

However, according to IPCC models, if humanity fails to reign in carbon emissions before temperatures rise two more degrees, sweltering June days will become much more common, and in that case, Madrid could expect an average of 0.2 days with a temperature of 40 degrees, while Seville could expect 0.9.

If inaction persists and the temperature increases by four degrees, Madrid could expect to see 2.5 days with 40 degrees in June and Seville could expect four.

Those situations would also make for treacherous months of July and August, which tend to be significantly hotter than June.

On Friday, temperatures in central Madrid are expected to hit 40 degrees. In Seville, the high is set for 38 degrees.

The heatwave is set to dissipate on Sunday.