A mass of hot and dry air blowing north from Africa has led to “exceptionally high” temperatures that are more “typical of summer” this week in central and southern Spain, the national weather service AEMET reported.
Temperatures this week are expected to be 15 to 20 degrees Celsius above normal for this time of year, with a chance they could hit 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in some places.
In large parts of Spain, temperatures have exceeded 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit). On Thursday, they are expected to surpass 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in the Guadalquivir River valley, which includes the cities of Cordoba and Seville, according to the Spanish national weather service.
On Wednesday, Cordoba and Seville airports both surpassed 36 degrees Celsius (96.8 degrees Fahrenheit), shattering the previous records for April temperatures set in 1997, Spain’s national weather agency AEMET reported.
Nighttime temperatures are also forecast to remain high, not dipping below 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit) in some places.
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This once-thriving lake has all but dried up. It’s a story repeated across Europe as the drought deepens
Schools in central and southern Spain are concerned about protecting students and staff from overheated classrooms that don’t have air conditioning, Spanish media reported. Some are considering shifting timetables to put outdoor exercise activities earlier in the school day.
The heat could increase risks of wildfires in the country, which has already seen unusually early fires burn more than 10,000 acres in the country’s eastern region of Castellon in late March.
Source: cnn.com
