Madrid Issues Red Weather Alert As Third Heatwave Hits
Yesterday, Monday 7th August, saw the Madrid authorities issue a red weather alert as the third heatwave of the summer hit the capital.
According to the State Meteorological Agency, AEMET, Wednesday will see temperatures will reach a high of 42.7 degrees in Madrid, which will make it one of the hottest days ever recorded since records began in 1950.
For much of Spain, 2023 has has felt like one prolonged heatwave, but in fact, this is the third “ola de calor” and is expected to continue until next week.
La temperatura media que se alcanzará en España el próximo miércoles, 9 de agosto, probablemente constituya un récord para esa fecha desde 1950. Será, probablemente, uno de los cinco días más cálidos para agosto de los últimos 73 años.
(Sigue…) pic.twitter.com/W1YZwa5zXu— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) August 7, 2023
Temperatures across the country have seen extreme highs, including in usually cool northern regions.
Bilbao will hit 40 degrees on Wednesday before falling to more seasonal Basque weather.
But no such escape for Madrid and much of the rest of the country which meteorologists warn could be the “most extreme of the summer” and again see temperatures surge above 40C in 25 of the country’s 50 provincial capitals for much of the week.
The latest heatwave is blamed on a blast of “hair dryer” heat from Africa.
It is expected the heatwave will last until Friday August 11th or even into the weekend in certain parts of the country, with Wednesday looking like the hottest day of the week.
Experts predict that the areas most affected by the surging temperatures will be the southwestern portion of the country, particularly areas like Córdoba and Seville, places that have already seen
temperatures in the mid-40s this summer.
Fifteen provinces across Andalucia, Castilla y León, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Galicia and Madrid have issued weather warnings
Rubén Campos, a spokesman from Spain’s state meteorological agency AEMET, told Spanish TV news outlet Canal 24 horas that the latest heatwave “will affect the entire peninsula, although it is possible that the Mediterranean area” could see a drop in temperatures.
