This Monday begins a heat wave that will affect most of the Peninsula until at least Thursday. Temperatures will be very high, with values above 40 ° in points of the northern half. Temperatures of 42° to 44° will be reached in the center, south and eastern points throughout the episode, very unusual temperatures even for August. The peak of the episode will be reached on Wednesday, with temperatures between 10° and 15° above normal. The nights will also be very warm: tropical nights that will not fall below 20 ° and torrid nights that will at most do so up to 25 °, depending on the areas. It is likely that cities such as Bilbao, Burgos or Soria, traditionally fresh, reach 40° for the first time since there are records in the case of Castilian-Leonese. Those least affected by the impact of the heat wave will be those on the Galician and Asturian coast. Also on the Mediterranean coast, although due to the humidity there will be "a feeling of embarrassment", according to the spokesman for the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), Rubén del Campo.
Although the heat wave officially enters Spain from this Monday, on Sunday already reached 44 ° in Seville and 43 ° in Badajoz, and towns in the provinces of Huelva and Seville. The dawn of this Monday has been very warm in the south of the Peninsula: in many points it has not dropped from 25 ° until 7.00. This Monday daytime temperatures rise, except on the Mediterranean slope and the Balearic Islands, which still resist the intense heat because cooler and moisture-laden Levante winds will arrive. They will have cloudy skies and there may be some weak rain in Catalonia and the Valencian Community. Those will be the only skies with clouds. In the rest of Spain they will be clear and very hot: 36° will be exceeded in points in the south of Galicia, also in the Community of Madrid and 40° and 42° in the west of Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura and large areas of Andalusia.
The Roman Bridge of Mérida, which has reached a temperature of 42 degrees, this Monday in Extremadura.jorge armestar
On Tuesday the heat will be more intense. A mass of very warm air from North Africa will enter the Peninsula and there will be a generalized rebound in temperatures that will be more noticeable in the north, where the rise in thermometers may be up to 6 ° or 8 ° compared to Monday. Temperatures will be between 5° and 10° above normal, except for the eastern tip of the peninsula and coastal areas. The thermometers in the Bay of Biscay will remain at maximum temperatures of between 25° and 30°; in the Mediterranean, humidity and maximums of 30° and 32° and in the peninsular interior will exceed 35°. In fact, in the northern and southern plateau of Galicia the maximum will be around 36 to 38° and even above 38°.
#Predicción of maximum and minimum #temperaturas for #hoy and its variations (2/2). https://t.co/nkt7p7WaxU pic.twitter.com/Lm4LPgILuw
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) August 7, 2023
Many inland areas such as the Community of Madrid, the Duero Valley and eastern Castilla-La Mancha will exceed 40° on Tuesday. In the valley of the Guadalquivir you can even reach 44° in a timely manner. The sky of the south of the Peninsula will also have dust in suspension during the day, which worsens the air quality. There may also be some isolated thunderstorms in the east of the Peninsula in the afternoon, with little rainfall, but with very strong gusts of wind associated.
Very warm mornings
Wednesday will probably be the warmest day of the heat wave, with a new general rise in temperatures more noticeable in the northern and eastern thirds of the Peninsula, mainly due to the arrival of winds from the south and southwest. The morning will be very warm, with minimum temperatures between 22 ° and 25 °. During the day, large areas of the center, south and Mediterranean area will have maximum temperatures between 5 ° and 10 ° above normal, and even between 10 ° and 15 ° higher than usual in large areas of the northern third and in some points of the south. These are extraordinarily high figures.
The central area, the south of Galicia and the northern plateau could reach 40° or even exceed them. In the southern plateau, cities such as Albacete, Toledo or Ciudad Real will be around 42° and 44°, also in the interior of Andalusia. In the valley of the Guadalquivir and in the province of Jaén you can even exceed 44°. Only on the western Cantabrian coast and on the Mediterranean will there be milder temperatures. There will also be on Wednesday the possibility of some isolated stormy showers, but they could be accompanied by very strong wind gusts in the north and east of the Peninsula.
The @ECMWF EFI index quantifies the rarity of a phenomenon. According to this index, temperatures during #OlaDeCalor will be very unusual in much of the Peninsula, especially on Wednesday; On Thursday they will be especially in the eastern third. https://t.co/r2mPE93m25 pic.twitter.com/mVdE8wdgp0
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) August 6, 2023
On Thursday there will be an entry of winds from the west and northwest from the Atlantic and that are cooler winds, which will cause a drop in temperatures in much of the Peninsula, especially in the northern third, where the drop will be between 6 ° and 10 ° compared to Wednesday. However, these winds will arrive overheated to the Mediterranean area and will cause a notable rise in temperatures of between 6° and 10° more than on Wednesday. Despite the general thermal decrease, except in the Mediterranean, the thermometers will continue to mark temperatures between 5 ° and 10 ° higher than normal for the time of year, and even temperatures between 10 ° and 15 ° above normal in the peninsular southeast, in points of the Valencian Community and the Region of Murcia, where they can exceed 42 ° and even 44 °.
More information
The temperature soars in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic: "For many species, it is as if there is a fire in the sea"
During Friday and weekend it is likely that temperature drops will continue. Friday may end the heat wave, but it is likely that very high temperatures will continue to be reached in some areas over the weekend, especially in the southern half.
In the Canary Islands, the heat, accompanied by dust in suspension, will also make an appearance in the archipelago from Wednesday, with a warm episode that will probably persist throughout the week and that will take the thermometers above 36 ° in the midlands of the islands of greater relief. Even above 40° in the south of Gran Canaria, with very warm nights also there. Minimum temperatures above 25°.
Workers in the neighborhood of Raval, this Monday in Barcelona.Gianluca Battista
The spokesman for Aemet, Rubén del Campo, explains that heat waves are becoming more frequent and more intense, and that "there is a scientific consensus" on the matter. "Spain is no exception. In fact, heat waves are increasing in frequency, intensity and also in extension," Del Campo said. According to the spokesman, in the current summers there are about "10 to 12 more days of heat wave situation than we had in the 80s of the twentieth century, but they are also spreading on the surface." Every decade three more provinces are affected. In addition, the most important heat waves that have been experienced in Spain have occurred in recent years: "In 2022 in Spain we had the record of 41 days under a heat wave situation. The previous record was from 2015 with 29 days, which is also close in time."
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