Spain, France suffocates like a fiery arena

France has been hit hard by a heat wave from the Magrep via Spain since Tuesday, first affecting the southwestern part of the country before it spread.

Météo-France expects a maximum value of 34 to 38 degrees on Thursday across the southern part of the country, with domestic peaks of up to 40 degrees in the shade.

The weather will be hot on Friday in most parts of the country, with the heat wave spreading to the north and intensifying further west and south. During the hottest part of the afternoon, Météo-France forecasts 36 to 39 degrees in these regions, and domestically peaks again at 40 degrees.

Unprecedented beginning

Due to global warming, heat waves are on the rise around the world, especially in France, since 2017 and 2005, which began on June 18, and this chapter is unprecedented.

AFP Olivier Proust, Météo-France’s forecaster, explained that the wave “has a detrimental effect on soil drought” and emphasizes the “risk of wildfires”, especially after a dry spring and winter.

Fire in Spain

This is the scene facing neighboring Spain, which has been suffocating for six days, with temperatures hovering above 40 degrees.

The most worrying fire occurred near Baldomar in the province of Lérida (Catalonia, northeast), where the fire has already destroyed 500 hectares of forest, but there is a “potential” to spread to 20,000 hectares. Catalan Regional Government.

In this case, no one was evacuated from the area, but as a precautionary measure the authorities have cordoned off certain residential areas.

In Lerida, temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius are expected on Thursday, with forecasts of over 40 degrees Celsius in the Badozos (southwest) and Zaragoza (northeast), according to the Spanish Meteorological Agency (AMED).

In Catalonia, the other two wildfires were intense on Thursday morning, with the Catalan government reporting that nearly 300 hectares were burned in both cases in the Solசோonese and the Diera Alta. Another fire broke out in the Sierra de la Culebra in Zamora (center).

This extraordinary heat wave in Spain at this point of the year has seen temperatures explode across the country since last weekend, peaking at 43 degrees. According to Aemet, this should last until Saturday.

Spain, which has enjoyed its hottest May this year since the turn of the century, has already experienced extreme temperatures in four episodes over the past ten months, according to the Meteorological Agency.