A heat wave this week set course for Spain, and in the southern parts of the country temperatures are expected up to 42 degrees in the next few days.
It is 10-15 degrees higher than the normal average temperature in May, and the country is thus well placed to set new heat records.
“This could be the most intense May heat wave in Spain in 20 years,” state meteorologist Rubén del Campo told the British newspaper The Guardian.
The meteorologist on duty at the Meteorological Institute in Oslo, Jon Austerheim, also confirms that the temperatures are “well above normal”.
– Normally the temperature is 25-30 degrees in the latter part of May, so this is unusually high. Yesterday, it was measured 41.6 degrees near the city of Cordoba in Andalucia, he points out.
BURNING HEAT: The measurement is the expected temperature on Sunday 22.05.2022 at 14. Click on the image for a full overview. Illustration: Jon Austerheim v / Meteorological Institute in Oslo
sea view
According to the Spanish Meteorological Institute, the extreme heat is primarily due to warm air currents from the African continent.
Residents are encouraged by the country’s health ministry to drink plenty of water, stay in cool places, and reduce physical activity. It writes the British broadcaster BBC.
Severe drought
The heat wave also hits southern parts of neighboring France. In several cities, it is reported up to 38 degrees next week.
The French Meteorological Institute expects that this will be the country’s warmest recorded month of May.
– It is very likely, says state meteorologist, François Jobard, according to The Guardian.
– We live in hell
He also says that 22 French regions – mainly in the southeast and southwest – “most likely” will suffer severe drought by the end of the summer.
According to French authorities, 16 French regions have already reduced water use.
– Prematurity
Also in the United States, more states are preparing for higher temperatures than normal. National Weather Service (NWS) predictions over 30 degrees in several places.
At the same time fighting India and Pakistan continue to face a burning heat wave. Here, temperatures have several times crept up to 50 degrees, which has created repeated problems with the power supply in the country.
However, it is too early for researchers to determine already now whether the various heat waves are due to climate change.
Alarm: Highest danger level
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said in early May that it was “premature” to link the “extreme heat in India and Pakistan to climate change only”.
However, the organization writes that “it is in line with what we expect in a changing climate”.
Drought in «rainland»
In a recent report from the global organization Christian Aid states that cities around the world – from London to Beijing and New Delhi – are facing an increasing risk of drought as a result of climate change.
This means that many big cities risk water shortages.
Even London and the South East of England, in the infamous rainy UK, are in danger of running out of water within 25 years due to drought, according to experts in the report.
sea view
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Also in green Oslo, the inhabitants have gotten to know what drought leads to. Never before has such a dry March and April been registered in Southeast Norway.
Oslo municipality has for the first time in a long time gone out and asked residents to save on water due to low water levels in the drinking water source Maridalsvannet – both due to little rain, but also due to maintenance work.
– There has never been so little precipitation measured at Blindern in Oslo since the survey started in 1937. A total of 13.3 millimeters of precipitation came, while it comes around 85 millimeters in a normal year, state meteorologist Bente Wahl told Dagbladet earlier in May.
Oslo Municipality: – Shower shorter!
Poor countries most vulnerable
However, the organization Christian Aid, which works to support sustainable development, eradicate poverty, support civil society and provide disaster relief in South America, the Caribbean, Africa and Asia, warns that it is primarily the poor who will suffer most from drought and subsequent water shortage.
Among other things, they point to Zimbabwe’s capital Harare and Kabul in Afghanistan as critical.
Cities are more vulnerable in poor countries as they have fewer resources to adapt to climate change. Lack of water can lead to serious conflicts, the report states.
– Drought is a real danger. It threatens the lives and livelihoods of some of the poorest people in the world. To address this injustice, we need not only cuts in emissions, but also financial support for those communities that do not have the opportunity to adapt to the situation, says co-author of the report, Nushrat Rahman Chowdhury.
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