The and. Not only in the south, but also in the north. According to the State Meteorology Agency (Aemet), the highest temperature in the country on Monday was recorded in the Gallego municipality of Ribadavia, in Ourense, where they reached up to 42.8 degrees at 3:30 p.m. Of the 20 maxims marked by the thermometers, four were scored in southern Galicia, distributing the rest by the valleys of Guadalquivir, Guadiana and Tajo.
In Andalusia, the region with the highest scored, highlights the 42.7 degrees registered at the Montoro Meteorological Station, Vega Armijo (Córdoba), and the 42.1 in Bailén (Jaén), shortly after 3:20 p.m. Jaén, in particular, accumulated five of these extreme values. In Extremadura, temperatures were also intense, with five peaks above 41 degrees in the provinces of Cáceres and Badajoz.
According to the AEMET, although for Wednesday a small decrease in temperatures is expected in some areas ,. This will be the trend, at least, until Sunday, except in the southeast peninsular quadrant.
While Galicia is usually in summer a region of temperate and humid climate, at the beginning of the extreme heat it was primed, especially with Ourense. “They call her the pot of Galicia, for being in a valley the heat is concentrated,” says Fabio Forino, manager of tourism companies Guíame Galicia and Free Tours Ourense, who works in the sector 15 years ago. As he says, in this area, it is not something new and in days like these the neighbors avoid leaving between 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m., which concentrate the highest temperatures. In fact, to continue his work as a tourist guide, during the summer he is forced to change the hours of the tours at 10:00 and 12:00 hours and thus make them more bearables.
In Ribadavia, the town where the Aemet registered the maximum temperature of the entire country, Marcos Blanco, owner of the restaurant A Comanda Gastrobar, has also had to adapt its business to this climate. “When it’s very hot, people leave less, especially older people,” he says and adds, “we talk that there are 40 or 42 degrees in the sun and about 38 in the shadow, it is very hot.” The restaurants, he explains, are prepared for these temperatures and most have air conditioning. However, the biggest challenge is to make cooking personnel “the best possible”, since “inside it is very hot and that is the most complicated,” he says.
Despite the heat of the day, when the afternoon arrives, around 8:00 p.m., the environment refreshes. “Lower eight or nine degrees, starting at 22:00 the dinners are more bearable,” says Blanco.
According to the Aemet, from Monday to Tuesday, in southern Galicia, some areas of Castilla-León, the Coast and Mediterranean Prelitors and several points of Extremadura, Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Andalusia. The same with torrid nights (greater than 25 degrees) that have extended through several places, although the state agency stands out the valleys of southern Gredos, in Cáceres, with temperatures of 27.8 degrees at 00:30 hours in Valverde del Fresno and 26.1 at 6:20.
In Galicia, another sector affected by heat waves is that of Óscar Castrelo, agronomist and viticultor in the Ribeiro region, west of Ourense, Matías Helbig reports. He acknowledges that in his region the heat is always worse: “In the valleys of the rivers the air does not move, so very high temperatures are reached,” he says. “But every year we mark historical, they are very aggressive heat waves now.” In recent years, he says, harvests with more than 30 degrees have been made, “it is a real barbarity.” And emphasizes the lack of water: “I think we have been dropping a drop for a month; before it rained much more.”
Deaths attributable to heat
In Galicia, according to data from the Carlos III Health Institute, through the Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MOMO) ,. The aging of the population and the lack of custom at these temperatures above 30 degrees in the community could be some of the causes, explained Marta Piñeiro, director of the Galician Center for Disease Control and Prevention to Europa Press.
These figures are not deaths directly related to heat – as a heat stroke or severe dehydration could be – but it is an estimate made based on historical data of expected and observed deaths for a period, explained the director. A statistical model is used to determine the causes when there is an excess of death.
The Ministry of Health, on the other hand, informed that those over 65, as well as children under four, pregnant women and those who are in disease treatments, in addition to people with pulmonary or heart ailments ,.
With the arrival of this second heat wave of the summer, Spain has already lived 90 in the last 25 years, according to EFE with Aemet data. The data reflects that these events are increasingly long and more frequent: between 1975 and 1999 there were 44 waves, while they already add 90 so far in the century, that is, more than double. So far, the most intense and extensive, according to the same agency, is the one registered in 2022, between July 9 and 16.
High temperatures all week
The Aemet has announced that this Wednesday 6 there will be a general drop in temperatures in much of the country, but it will continue to heat in some valleys of the west, southwest and the Miño area, which can reach 40 degrees. In the north of the country a change of wind will make the maxims increase.
On Thursday 7 and Friday 8. The Aemet expects 38 degrees to be exceeded throughout the southwest quadrant, southern Galicia and west of the Northern Plateau. In areas such as the depressions of the Northeast and the valleys of the Tajo, Guadiana and Guadalquivir, temperatures between 40 and 42 degrees could be reached. In addition, it is expected that in the afternoon there will be favorable conditions for isolated storms in the south. They will leave little rain, but they could be accompanied by strong wind.
The nights will also remain very warm. In the next few days, 23 or 25 degrees will not be lowered in the central and southern peninsular areas, as well as in the Mediterranean coast, extending these values to the Ebro valley as of Thursday.
