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While a good part of Spain prepares for first heat wave From this summer, meteorologists study what is happening in the atmosphere to answer questions such as how we have reached here or when the extreme heat will end.
The first wave is approaching. The State Meteorology Agency (AEMET) launched a Special notice for the arrival of this heat wave. The notice will enter into force tomorrow, Saturday 28, but the most intense days of this episode that will last at least until Tuesday, July 1 will be expected.
The heat waves are, By definitionextreme events in which temperatures exceed statistically defined temperature intervals for the time of year. That is, the situation is remarkably hotter than one would expect for these days of the beginning of summer.
Heat dome To explain what is happening at the atmospheric level, meteorologists resort to a metaphorical term, the dome or heat dome. Physicist Francisco Martín León explains this concept in a piece for Meteoredalthough the term speaks in itself.
The main “ingredient” in this phenomenon is a height anticyclone. When one of these anticyclones remains static in a given area, it tends to catch air masses at lower levels. This air also tends to accumulate heat due to the high insolation associated with atmospheric stability.
A shared dome. The peculiar atmospheric situation is not being the exclusive heritage of the Peninsula as on the occasions in which we talk about the “Iberian oven” but the dome formed by the anticyclone also covers a good part of the south and southwest of Europe.
Bad news if we consider the temperature increase lived during the last weeks in Mediterranean waters and the risks involved in this anomalous accumulation of thermal energy.
42º and climbing. In addition to its special notice, Aemet has activated various notices due to extreme temperatures. For now it is yellow and orange notices, although it is convenient to pay attention to how the situation advances. For today, the agency expects maximum between 34º and 36º in good part of the country, with some areas that could reach 40º.
As the days go by the situation could get worse, with areas such as the Guadalquivir Valley exceeding the 42nd mark. Some predictions They even speak of Andalusian cities that reach the 44th Celsius.
An additional problem will be the minimum temperatures. They are expected to fall from the 23rd-25º “in large areas of the southern half and the Ebro valley.” That is, part of the country will encounter “tropical nights” that will make due rest of the people suffering them.
Meteosalud. In addition to Aemet notices, Meteosalud, under the Ministry of Health, has issued its own evaluation of the areas with greater and lesser health risk these days. This evaluation warns of high -risk areas in areas of the northern peninsular such as the Ebro Rivera in Navarra, the central area of Huesca or the central depression of Tarragona.
Image | ECMWF
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