Spain endured a 16-day heatwave from August 3-18 with provisional readings exceeding the previous record and an average temperature 4.6°C above expected thresholds, with peaks reaching 43°C (109°F). AEMET reports that four of the five most intense heatwaves have occurred since 2019 and that 77 heatwaves have been recorded since 1975, six of them 4°C or more above average. The event is linked to over 1,100 estimated deaths and has worsened tinderbox conditions, fuelling wildfires that have burned more than 382,000 hectares and required national and international firefighting deployments.
AEMET noted that the most recent heatwave, which saw temperatures reach 43C (109 F), is part of an escalating pattern of warmer summers due to the climate crisis. That four of the five most intense heat waves have occurred since 2019 is no coincidence, it said. Not every summer will always be warmer than the previous one, but the trend toward more extreme summers is clear. The keys: adaptation and mitigation of climate change.
Since it began its records in 1975, AEMET has registered 77 heatwaves in Spain, with six of them going 4C (39.2F) or more above the average. More than 1,100 deaths in Spain have been linked to this year's August heatwave, according to an estimate released on Tuesday by the Carlos III Health Institute. The heatwave has also exacerbated tinderbox conditions in Spain, fuelling wildfires that continue to ravage parts of the country.
Last week, the Spanish army deployed 3,400 troops and 50 aircraft to help firefighters, while the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Slovakia also sent hundreds of firefighters, vehicles and aircraft. The fires have burned more than 382,000 hectares (944,000 acres) or about 3,820 sq km (1,475 sq miles), according to the European Union's European Forest Fire Information System.
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