Spain hits June record of 46 degrees as extreme heat grips Europe
A new national heat record for June was set in Spain on weekends, with temperatures reaching 46 degrees Celsius in the city of El Granado near the Portuguese border, as wider in heat tracks at the beginning of summer, parts of Portugal, France and Greece.
The Spanish state meteorological agency AEMET confirmed the record temperature on Saturday. The summit of Spain’s 45.2 degrees from the previous June of June was set in Seville in 1965.
Dozens of cities across Spain have reported maximum temperatures greater than 40 degrees, while neighboring Portugal has also completed. In the country’s tourism region of the country, the summits have reached around 40 degrees.
On the Spanish holiday island in Mallorca, temperatures climbed nearly 35 degrees.
The night conditions offered little relief. In the south of Spain, the night lows have remained above 30 degrees – a sustained heat level which, according to experts, may have serious health risks.
The inhabitants are used to dealing with extreme temperatures by limiting external activity during maximum heat, by wearing light clothes and hydrating frequently. But the combination of torrid heat and intense sun quickly unleashes the soil and vegetation, considerably increasing the risk of forest fires.
Meteorologists warn that these heat waves become more frequent and arrive earlier in the season due to climate change based on humans.
According to AEMET, only two heat waves were recorded in June between 1975 and 2000. Between 2000 and 2024, this number was new. This year, temperatures approached the levels of August from the end of May.
France and Greece also feel the heat
France is also stifling under the heat wave, which should last in the middle of next week. Monday, temperatures above 35 degrees are planned in a large part of the country. Tuesday, Paris could see heights of 40 degrees, according to the National Weather Agency Mtéo France.
Forest fires broke out in the south of France in the middle of the current heat, perhaps caused by a barbecue.
An A61 motorway section was closed and a Bizanet campsite was evacuated, according to the local prefecture based in Carcassonne.
In total, seven fires were reported after a person transported a barbecue with embers still stimulating in a trailer, the local civil protection chief, Christian Pouget, BFMTV said on Sunday.
In the small municipality of Bizanet alone, more than 150 firefighters fought the flames. Fire control helicopters have also been deployed, the authorities said.
The fires affected 400 hectares of land.
Experts note that linking individual forest fires directly to climate change is difficult.
In Greece, strong winds ended a brutal to a three -day heat wave, with temperatures from around 40 degrees to 30 degrees in a few hours, the National Weather Service reported.
Despite the recharging time, the combination of heat and wind prompted the Civil Protection Agency of Greece to declare the highest level of fire danger for the major expanses of the country.
Major forest fires have already exploded this European summer in the south of Athens and on the island of Chios.
