Spain roasts in 44 degree heat as summer’s third heatwave peaks

Spain’s third heatwave of the summer was set to reach its peak on Wednesday, with temperatures hitting up to 44 degrees Celsius in central and southern areas as authorities warned of the risk of wildfires.

The mercury was also expected to rise to 40 degrees in the Basque Country, which is less accustomed to such high temperatures, state weather agency AEMET said.

It warned of dry storms - meaning thunder and lightning without rainfall - in many parts of the country.

Southern European countries have been grappling with record-breaking temperatures this summer, prompting authorities to warn of health risks, particularly for the elderly and those with medical conditions.

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The heatwaves recorded in Spain and wider Europe this summer have also worsened a prolonged drought, lowering reservoir levels as water evaporation and consumption increase and prompting authorities in Catalonia to impose restrictions.

As Spain suffocates under high temperatures, ice on its mountains is melting.

The Cryosphere, a scientific journal focused on frozen water and ground, published a peer-reviewed paper on Tuesday showing how the Aneto Glacier, the largest in the Pyrenees, is melting and could disappear altogether.

The paper shows the glacier lost about two-thirds of its surface area between 1981 and 2022 and has been reduced to just half a square km. The glacier’s mean ice thickness was reduced by about 30m in the same period.

The melting accelerated in 2021 and 2022, both particularly warm years in Spain. - Reuters

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