A new heat record has been measured in Spain, 47.4 degrees, in the city of Córdoba in Andalusia, according to the state weather service.
– It is extreme, says SVT's meteorologist Deana Bajic.
The record is 0.1 degrees warmer than the previous record from the same weather station in July 2017.
Temperatures rarely exceed 45 degrees around the Mediterranean, according to meteorologist Deana Bajic.
"It's very unusual. It doesn't usually look like this," she says.
Hot air from the Sahara has led to a heatwave that is suffocating southern Europe. The high pressure, dubbed Lucifer, has now prompted five Spanish regions to raise their alert levels.
Several towns have been evacuated
Twelve firefighting planes were deployed on Sunday to extinguish fires in Azuébar in the Valencia region. Fires are already raging in Castile in central Spain and several smaller towns have been evacuated. According to the Reuters news agency, at least 1,000 people have been evacuated from their homes in the Castile and Leon region.
Between 2011 and 2020, Spain has recorded twice as many heat waves as in the previous three decades.
– Heat records have been measured more frequently over the past ten years. In connection with climate change, we can expect even more to be broken – and more often, says Deana Bajic.
Highest temperature in Europe – ever
Sicily recently recorded a temperature of 48.8 degrees Celsius. If the measurement is verified, it is the highest temperature ever experienced in Europe.
– Globally, the Earth is getting warmer. We can expect more extreme weather, including heat and drought, says the meteorologist.
The hottest temperature ever recorded in the world is 55 degrees Celsius. It was in Tunisia in the summer of 1931. Just a month ago, the record was close to being broken. On the American West Coast, it was 54 degrees Celsius.
In Sweden, the highest temperature ever recorded was 38 degrees. That was in June 1947.
Source:svt
