Due to extreme heat, the central government and regional authorities in Spain are taking action. The Ministry of Health proposed to the country’s regions on Thursday that the national heat protection action plan should come into force on May 15 this year and not on June 1, as the state TV broadcaster RTVE reported.
RTVE showed pictures of workers sweating and swearing. Long queues formed in front of ice cream parlors. People also sought refreshment in fountains and air-conditioned shopping malls.
The regional government in Madrid has already decided on several measures to contain the consequences of the heat. In the capital, among other things, they want to open the public outdoor pools as early as mid-May, a month earlier than usual, adjust school times, check the situation in social and health centers more often, and allow the subways and buses to run more frequently in order to avoid larger crowds and long periods of time to avoid waiting times.
It has been unusually warm in Spain since the beginning of the week due to “a very warm and dry air mass” from Africa, according to the national weather service Aemet. In several Andalusian cities, including Córdoba and Granada, temperature records for April have already been broken: In Córdoba, the previous high of 34.0 degrees was clearly exceeded on Tuesday, according to Aemet, with 35.1 degrees.
According to Aemet, the peak so far was reached on Thursday and it should also remain hot on Friday: In Madrid, maximum temperatures of 30 degrees were predicted, in Mallorca there should be up to 34 degrees on both days in the north of the island. In Andalusia in the south of the country, temperatures could climb to at least 38 degrees, according to the forecast. Aemet spokesman Rubén del Campo did not rule out reaching 40 degrees – a mark that Aemet says has never been measured in mainland Spain in April.
