Spain has experienced a heatwave lasting sixteen days during August, marking the most intense period since records began, according to the National Meteorological Agency.
Preliminary data indicates that the recent heatwave surpassed that recorded in July 2022, with temperatures 4.6 degrees Celsius higher than typical for heatwaves. During the record heatwave of 2022, the temperature difference was 4.5 degrees Celsius.
Since 1975, Spain has experienced 77 heatwaves, six of which had temperatures four degrees or more above average. Five of these heatwaves have occurred since 2019, highlighting the worsening trend of this phenomenon.
The current heatwave ended on August 18, with the period from August 8 to 17 being the hottest on record in Spain since at least 1950, according to the National Meteorological Agency.
Based on estimates from the Carlos III Health Institute, the heatwave this month may have resulted in 1,149 deaths.
The heatwave has also exacerbated the massive wildfires still ravaging Spain and Portugal, which have burned over 400,000 hectares in both countries and claimed the lives of four individuals in each nation.
Source
