Up to 30° C in Spain: scientists are concerned about the heat wave hitting the country in the middle of winter

Les températures de ce mois de janvier en Espagne sont comparables avec celles d'un mois de janvier. ILLUSTRATION MAXPPP – CLARA MARGAIS

Des températures jusqu'à 30 degrés ont été enregistrées ce jeudi 25 janvier en Espagne. Des températures qui correspondent habituellement à celles enregistrées au mois de juin qui inquiètent les scientifiques. 

Temperatures around 30 °C degrees were recorded on Thursday January 25 in Spain, affected by a heat wave worthy of the start of summer in the middle of January, announced the ;rsquo;Spanish meteorological agency Aemet.

An "anomaly"

The thermometer rose to 30.7°C in Gavarda, in the Province of Valencia this Thursday, January 25 in the afternoon, 28.5& deg;C in that of Murcia and 27.8°C near Malaga, in the south of Andalusia. Several local temperature records for the month of January were also broken in across the country.

Algunas estaciones de @AEMET_Esp superan hoy los 28 °C.

Cerca de 400 estaciones automáticas, mas o menos la mitad de las que componen la red, han alcanzado o superado los 20 °C.

El promedio de las temperaturas máximas en enero en España es 10,6 °Chttps://t.co/wJDgD1YDQx pic.twitter.com/fvldFfQcYr

— Rubén del Campo (@Rub_dc) January 25, 2024

These are exceptional values ​​for the month of January, as evidenced by the reactions of meteorologists on social networks. The spokesperson for Aemet, Ruben del Campo, even mentions an "anomaly" of these "summer" which correspond to those "proper to the middle or end of June". 

Drought and heat wave in the south of France too

Spain had already recorded unusually high temperatures in December, with a peak of 29.9 °C in Malaga, a national record for the period. These heat waves occur in a context of severe drought, particularly in Andalusia and Catalonia (east), where the authorities have implemented restrictive measures for water consumption, after three years of low rainfall.

According to David Corell, researcher at the University of Valencia, cited by our colleagues from TF1,&amp ;nbsp;this heat in the middle of winter, which also affects the south-east of France, is caused by the presence of a powerful anticyclone above the Mediterranean. "There are no studies yet that have assessed the long-term trend of this type of events, but it is clear that we are experiencing this type of abnormal situation is becoming more and more frequent", due to global warming, explained the researcher.