Sea temperatures are at a record high for the season on the Spanish coast, according to the national weather agency Aemet, which on Wednesday kept part of the country on alert due to the heat wave.
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According to readings made by Aemet over all of Spain’s coastal areas, the water temperature by sea averaged 24.6°C in mid-July in the country, 2.2°C hotter than normal for the season.
The number “significantly” exceeds the previous records for 2015 (24°C) and 2022 (23.7°C) and “has no precedent” for this time of year since records began in 1940, Emmett said.
This situation, which is part of the context of global ocean warming, is all the more troubling because summer is not over yet, Emmett spokesman Ruben Del Campo said Wednesday.
Thus, the waters risk “continuing to warm”, both in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Atlantic Ocean, the spokesperson explained, explaining that the Mediterranean was already 28 degrees Celsius in southeastern Spain.
This warning comes at a time when Spain is facing a severe heat wave since the beginning of the week, which is the third since the beginning of the summer, due to the presence of Anti-Cyclone Sharon in the western Mediterranean basin.
With that, the mercury on Tuesday reached 45.4 degrees Celsius in Figueras, in Catalonia, an absolute temperature record for this region of northeastern Spain, according to Aemet, which kept several Spanish provinces on red alert on Wednesday.
According to Ruben del Campo, the thermometer should fluctuate between 38 and 42 ° C in the southeast of the country and can exceed 44 ° C in the regions of Alicante, Murcia and Almeria.
Because of these high temperatures, the Spanish government has warned of a fire risk considered “extremely high”, as nearly 3,500 hectares have burned in recent days on the island of La Palma in the Canary archipelago.
The authorities of this island located off the northwestern coast of Africa said that these forest fires, which led to the temporary evacuation of 4,000 people, were still continuing until Wednesday morning, but they were on their way to being brought under control.
Due to the “deterioration of air quality” caused by the presence of “suspended particles”, residents of the respective regions were called on Wednesday morning to reduce their outdoor activities.
