Heatwaves in Spain and Portugal. Heat records have been broken

According to the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA), the record temperature was recorded on Thursday at ten, i.e. more than half of all weather stations in the country. The record value for April was recorded in the town of Mora in central Portugal, where the thermometer showed 36.9 degrees Celsius. So far, the record temperature in April in Portugal was 36 degrees Celsius recorded in 1945 in the town of Pinhao.

The national meteorological institute expects another temperature record to be broken in Portugal by the middle of next week. Due to the ongoing heatwave over Portugal, the civil defense services issued an alert regarding the increase in the risk of forest fires.

“The reason for the record heatwaves in our country is the appearance of a mass of hot air from North Africa,” the release said.

For the same reason, unprecedented heat in April swept over Spain. The April temperature record for mainland Spain was recorded at Córdoba airport. The temperature there reached 38.8 degrees Celsius, reported the Spanish meteorological institution AEMET.

The previous record in the continental part of the country was 38.6 degrees Celsius, measured in 2011 in the city of Elche. On the other hand, the April heat record in the entire territory of Spain remains 40.2 degrees Celsius reached in 2013 on the island of Gran Canaria, which is part of the Canary Islands.

Spain’s health ministry has put in place a national prevention action plan, including adapting school schedules to cope with extreme heat. Air conditioning was provided in health centers and in the subway. In Andalusia, the number of emergency services was increased and public swimming pools opened a month earlier. After a slight drop in temperatures over the weekend, the heatwave is expected to return from next Tuesday.