He said that from Thursday, maximum temperatures are going to start to climb and the first heatwave of the year to grip large parts of the country, in particular the Balearics and the Canary Islands, on either Saturday or Sunday.
Maximum temperatures will reach between 35ºC and 40C and will remain high for much of next week.
The World Meteorological Organization defines a heatwave as an “unusually warm weather” that persists for “at least two days” with “records above the thresholds”.
As Ruben del Campo explained, in Spain, Aemet forecasts that “extreme temperatures must be registered among the five percent of the warmest, affect 10 percent of the [meteorological] stations and last three days at least.”
The heatwave beginning this week meets all three conditions.
The heatwave is thanks to Anticyclone Scipio which has been bringing hot air from Africa to the central Mediterranean, causing weeks of scorching temperatures.
An anticyclone – an area of high pressure – is the opposite of a cyclone. Some countries name anticyclones if they are likely to bring severe weather such as searing heat.
This is similar to the way most countries, including the UK, name areas of low pressure, or cyclones, if they bring severe weather in the form of heavy rain or strong winds.
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That was in the past. The next one will be the first. Then, the one in mid July when it hits 43° will be the first. The others are irrelevant. The important thing is being first. You know, #1. Global. Universal. Leading. All that.
The 1st heatwave of the year??? Please then explain why we had record temperatures in May only afew weeks ago?? 38.5c in Sa Pobla. Was that not a heatwave then?? Very quick to forget.