What is lived in Spain is hell. Anyone who is ready to go out these days could be considered a hero. There is no bottle of water that relieves one of this scorching heat. Temperatures of up to 44 degrees have been recorded in some parts of Spain and the authorities have already raised the orange alert (significant risk) in 32 provinces of the communities of Aragon, the two Castillas, Catalonia, Madrid, Navarra, the Basque Country, La Rioja and Valencian Community.
This extreme situation is intensifying the risk of fires in several communities. And neither the drought nor the high temperatures help.
An oven in Spain. The heat wave reaches its highest point with temperatures of 44° in Andalusia and Extremadura. Yesterday Badajoz recorded 43rd, while Ávila or Jaén reached 42º. The 40th were also seen in Lleida, Granada, Seville, Córdoba, Ciudad Real, Huesca, Teruel, Zaragoza, Salamanca, Valladolid, Zamora, Madrid, Navarra and La Rioja.
Health places on its warning map, where the health risk of these temperatures in the different populations is determined, up to 22 provinces with red alert. Although the longest heat wave (that of 2015) will not be overcome, “this is more aggressive”, according to some experts in this article in EL PAÍS. That yes, for the moment, according to TVE meteorologist Andrés Gómez16 records have already been broken.
fire risk. This is what the institutions warn since the temperatures have intensified and due to the drought. For this reason, they ask for extreme precautions in agricultural activities or near sensitive areas. In the last week alone, more than 165 hectares have been burned throughout Extremadura. And in the last few hours, three major fires have affected different parts of the peninsula such as Seville, La Rioja or Cáceres.
Hell in Las Hurdes. Extremadura has taken the worst part, where more than six Extremaduran population centers have had to be evacuated. The fire that started yesterday in the municipality of Ladrillar, in the Las Hurdes region, has already affected some 2,500 hectares in Cáceres and another 1,000 in Salamanca. Up to 300 firefighters and 17 aerial means had to travel to the disaster area.
The companions of @BRIF_PINE They are currently carrying out a backfire supported by a forest track jointly with means of @PLANINFOEX of @Junta_Agricultu
Good luck comrades pic.twitter.com/23cFcP9oRR
— ATBRIF (@AT_Brif) July 12, 2022
Around Spain. The trend affects the entire country. In the case of Madrid, the fire has so far destroyed some 72 hectares of pine forest and has forced the eviction of the Reajo del Roble urbanization and part of the Serranía de la Paloma urbanization. In La Rioja another fire was declared that has spread along the slopes of Mount Yerga and has caused alert level 2 to be activated. Up to 100 hectares burned.
In Seville, a fire was also declared in El Ronquillo that forced the Andalusian Government to activate Level 1 of the Forest Fire Emergency Plan. The flames advanced at full speed and 50 neighbors were evacuated for prevention.
Almost all Andalusia is at risk. Most of the community could burn due to the temperatures of more than 40 degrees that are registered. The reason is none other than (in addition to the heat), the wind and the very low humidity of the hot air pocket that is turning the region into an oven, literally. Only yesterday there were three active fires: in Huércal-Overa (Almería), Ardales (Málaga) and Aroche (Huelva).
As discussed in this ABC article, the air mass is drying out the vegetation and turning it into the perfect fuel. And if we add the wind to that, the consequences can be devastating.
More fires so far this year. According to data from Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge, 601 more fires have been recorded than last year. Although in a more general vision, the number is lower than the average of the decade, which is 4,253. Of course, at the moment a total of 16,493.88 hectares of surface have been burned in the whole of Spain, which represents 32.22% less than in the same period last year and 34.66% less than the average of the last 10 years.
Image: Nature Castilla y León.