Red Alert Declared In Some Regions Of Spain Due To Heat - Meteorological Agency

A heat wave from Africa has caused a considerable increase in temperatures throughout Spain, and red alert has been declared in some regions of the country, the State Meteorological Agency Aemet said

MADRID (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 13th August, 2021) A heat wave from Africa has caused a considerable increase in temperatures throughout Spain, and red alert has been declared in some regions of the country, the State Meteorological Agency Aemet said.

On Friday, the red alert was declared in the valley of the Guadalquivir River, in the cities of Cordoba and Seville, both located in the southern Andalusia autonomous community. The air temperature reached 44-46 degrees Celcius (79.2-82.8 degrees Fahrenheit) there.

"Although the minimum temperatures generally do not deviate so much from normal in heat wave situations, this time they will also be between 5 and 10 degrees [Celcius] above the normal," the Aemet spokesperson, Ruben Del Campo, said, as quoted by the Spanish El Pais newspaper.

In addition, on Friday and Saturday, a number of areas of mainland Spain, as well as the Balearic and Canary Islands, will be covered with dust and sand that came from the Sahara. The heat wave will reach its peak on Saturday.

The risk of fires remains extremely high. On Friday, firefighters managed to cope with fires in Pobla de Massaluca in Catalonia, where the fire destroyed 75 hectares of forest. In the municipality of Rubia in the northwest Galicia autonomous community, 200 hectares were burned. The fire was brought under control.

Currently, several countries in the southeast Mediterranean region, in particular, Greece, Tunisia, and Turkey, have been suffering from strong wildfires since early August after the worst heatwave since 1987 descended on the area.