The fourth wave of summer heat, which hits Spain during the week of August 21, is one of the strongest in the summer of 2023. Practically the entire peninsula is suffering from suffocating temperatures with values that exceed 40 °C. Only the Bay of Biscay and the southeastern coast are spared, although it is expected that due to the entry of wind from the south, some areas will reach 42 °C.
But how long will this heat wave last? The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has explained that this new increase in temperatures is due to the strong insolation on a warm and stable air mass. And so it will remain until Thursday, August 24.
The third day of the heat wave has left maximum 43.8 °C in Almonte and El Granado, both in Huelva, and has broken several records for the month of August. Zamora with 41.1 °C, Salamanca with 40.1 °C, Valladolid with 40 °C and Ponferrada with 40 °C, are the absolute maximum temperatures that have been recorded in these cities in August.
In addition, Segovia experienced a worrying 26.3 ºC during the early morning, being the highest minimum since temperature records have been kept in Spain for this city.
In the case of Madrid, the surveillance and control system for the effects of heat waves that was approved last April remains active. Today, Wednesday, 39 °C is estimated for the capital and 39.4 °C for Thursday. Although there will be a significant decrease for the weekend, with a maximum of 30 ° C on Saturday and 25.5 ° C during Sunday.
As of Friday, August 25, we will begin to experience a gradual drop in temperatures throughout the entire Iberian Peninsula. A much cooler Atlantic air mass will be the cause.
Heat waves are becoming more intense due to climate change
The heat waves that are being experienced, with increasing frequency and intensity, are due to climate change. Experts say that if we don’t stop burning fossil fuels, these extreme temperatures will be the norm in the future.
The effects of the heat wave experienced by Spain have been repeated in many regions of Europe, the United States, China and even South America, which is going through winter.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned at the end of July that there is no immediate respite in what they have called a “summer of extremes.” They warned that August would continue with high temperatures, above average, and they were right.
Spokespersons for the organization also explained that there are more and more studies showing that there is a direct connection between changes in weather patterns and global warming. The August heat wave is one more of the consequences of effects such as the increase in temperature in the Arctic – four times faster than the world average – causing the slowdown of winds known as jet streams.
“The jet stream weakens and weakens when hot air moves north and cold air moves south,” Álvaro Silva explained to euronews. “In these conditions, quasi-stationary weather patterns are established causing heat waves and prolonged droughts in some regions and heavy rainfall in others”.
On the other hand, a report from Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at the beginning of 2023 confirmed that the increase in the frequency and intensity of heat waves has been taking place since the 1950s, coinciding when the burning of fossil fuels began to increase significantly.
In 1950 it is estimated that the world emitted 6,000 million tons of CO₂. By 1990 the figure practically quadrupled to 22,000 million tons of CO₂. In 2021 we emitted 37,120 million tons of CO₂.
According to World Weather Attribution “This heat is unprecedented for humans. Europe is experiencing longer, hotter and more frequent heatwaves due to human-caused climate change.” One of her spokespersons also recalled that we are in time to reverse the trend, reducing global emissions to zero.