A city in Spain‘s southernmost region of Andalusia is already facing extreme heat this week, as one expert warns more “extreme occurrences” are likely as summer approaches.
Temperatures in Cordoba, the third most populated municipality in Andalusia, have been forecasted to reach 40C on Thursday, with the blistering heat to continue into Friday.
In recent years, the city of Cordoba and the homonym province have been among the hottest areas in Spain and Europe.
On August 14 2021, the town of Campana baked under 47.6C, setting the record for the highest temperature recorded in the country until then.
As suggested by the upcoming temperatures, Cordoba and its surroundings are likely to experience another boiling summer this year, according to Jim Dale, co-author of Surviving Extreme Weather and senior meteorologist at British Weather Services.
He told Express.co.uk: “Cordoba and Seville are heading the same way – sooner rather than later. High 30C’s, possibly a 40C from Wednesday onwards – at least for a few days before the big heat eases somewhat.
“The heat dome is out of northern Africa and yes it’s very early for such temperature heights. However, having to be on the lookout for the odd thundery downpour by the weekend.
“Given the climate change backdrop, more of these extreme occurrences – and beyond – are almost inevitable as we head into the summer.”
A heat dome is a weather phenomenon happening when strong high pressure atmosphering conditions remain stationary for an unusual amount of time and is caused by the atmosphere trapping hot air as if it was bounded by a lid.
As noted by Mr Dale, Seville, another Andalusian city, has been forecasted by the Spain’s Meteorological Agency (Aemet) to experience temperatures as high as 39C later on this week.
Last year, Seville was also affected by extreme heat, with Mr Dale warning the temperatures there were likely to increase “as the summers go on, and essentially, the city is turning into a desert“.