The orange level, indicating significant danger, is in force today in Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, Catalonia, Galicia and Madrid. In Aragón, Castile and León and the Valencian Community the alert remains at yellow, signalling a lower level of risk.
In Extremadura the orange warning covers the entire region, with temperatures hovering around 40ºC across almost all of its territory. A similar situation is forecast in the Tagus valley in Castilla-La Mancha, where maximums close to that figure are also expected.
In Andalusia, the hardest-hit areas will be the Guadalquivir valley in Jaén, the Sierra Morena and Condado district, the lowlands of Córdoba and Seville, and El Andévalo and the coast of Huelva, with temperatures that in several places could approach 42ºC during the middle of the day.
The north is not spared either
Although the usual pattern places the most intense heat in the south and the interior of the peninsula, this time Galicia also appears among the regions under an orange warning. Inland Ourense could reach 39ºC, while the Rías Baixas in Pontevedra and the south-west of A Coruña are expected to be around 37ºC.
It is a striking anomaly in a region where this kind of episode tends to be more notable for its rarity. In Madrid, the most severe warnings are concentrated in the Sierra, with temperatures of up to 37ºC, and in the metropolitan area and the Henares basin, where maximums of 39ºC are forecast.
A summer marked by successive heatwaves
Aemet issued a special heatwave warning after a gradual rise in temperatures that began at the start of the week, and expects the episode to last at least until next Tuesday.
This is not an isolated case: meteorologists point out that of the twelve heatwaves recorded in June since comparable records began in 1975, half have occurred since 2015. The first heatwave of this summer, which persisted through much of June, was linked to hundreds of deaths attributed to high temperatures, according to the Health Ministry’s monitoring system.
Health authorities are reiterating the usual advice for such conditions: avoid exercise and exposure to the sun during the hottest hours of the day, stay well hydrated, and pay particular attention to older people, children and those with chronic illnesses.
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