There was no real cooling down at night either, in large parts of the country the temperatures hardly dropped to 20 degrees after the sun had set. Record temperatures were also expected in France. The weather service spoke of “a real exceptional situation”. Meanwhile, half of Greece remained rainy, next week heat should follow.
In the cities of Spain, people often went to fountains, ice cream parlors and air-conditioned shopping centers to cool off, the media reported. Some of the beaches on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts were already full early on Saturday morning. The record of this hot spell was registered on Friday in Andújar, Andalusia, with 44.2 to 44.3 degrees.
According to the Aemet weather service, it should be particularly hot on Saturday with 40 to 42 degrees, especially in the regions of Catalonia, Navarre and Basque Country in the north-east and north of the country and in Andalusia in the south. Otherwise it was anything but cool: In the capital Madrid, the mercury column should climb up to 39 degrees on Saturday. Up to 37 degrees were expected on the holiday island of Mallorca. So-called tropical nights keep the Spaniards from sleeping.
Photo gallery: forest fires in Spain
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25,000 hectares of forest destroyed
The heat and drought favored the outbreak of numerous forest fires, which, according to official figures, have already destroyed a good 25,000 hectares in various parts of Spain in just a few days. This corresponds to an area of around 35,000 football pitches. On Saturday, the flames were still blazing uncontrollably in many places. The situation was worst in the Sierra de la Culebra mountain range near the border with Portugal in north-west Spain, where 20,000 hectares of forest have been destroyed and 1,700 people have been evacuated.
Aemet announced that the heat wave would subside significantly after a good week on Sunday. In Madrid, for example, there should still be around 30 degrees. On Mallorca and in Navarra, locals and holidaymakers will continue to sweat profusely at temperatures of up to 37 degrees at least until Monday.
Heat waves are increasing in Spain, said Aemet spokesman Rubén del Campo. The absolute record was measured last August in Montoro in Andalusia: 47.4 degrees. This development is due to man-made climate change. Del Campo warned in an interview with the newspaper “La Vanguardia” that one should not be surprised if the 50-degree mark is reached at some point.
Heat also in France
At the peak of the heat wave in France, peak temperatures of up to 43 degrees and 35 to 39 degrees across the board were expected on Saturday. In connection with the severe drought that had lasted for a long time, there was a great risk of forest fires, and the fire brigade repeatedly went out to sources of fire in nature. In the southern French department of Tarn, three fires broke out on Saturday alone, as the prefecture announced.
In extreme heat, two pensioners died on the west coast on Pornichet beach on Friday, as reported by the broadcaster France Info. An 80-year-old lay on his towel in the blazing sun. When he stopped moving, other beachgoers called for help. The man apparently suffered heat stroke. Two hours later, an 82-year-old collapsed dead in the water. With a water temperature of 16 degrees and an air temperature of 35 degrees, a deadly cold shock was suspected.
Storms coming from the Atlantic coast are expected in France from Sunday night, which will later affect other parts of the country. Locally, these storms could be accompanied by violent gusts of wind and strong thunderstorms. An end to the heat wave is expected, which will only last longer in eastern France.
In Greece it will rain in the north and west at the weekend and there will be thunderstorms in parts. For example, on the Peloponnese peninsula, which is popular with tourists, and also in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki. However, it will remain warm in the rainy regions with temperatures around 27 degrees.
Those who vacation on Crete and the Cyclades islands, on the other hand, can look forward to unclouded sunshine and temperatures of around 30 degrees. Meteorologists expect that the heat wave over western Europe will not reach Greece until the middle of next week – and then probably in a weaker version.
Source: Nachrichten
