According to Spain’s weather agency, unusually high temperatures are expected to persist in many parts of the country over the weekend. This unexpected heat has led to a summer-like atmosphere along the coastal areas as individuals flock to the beaches for sunbathing and winter swimming. The AEMET weather agency in Spain attributed the high temperatures in southern Europe to an anticyclone that is bringing a warm air mass from the south. The absence of cloud cover has also contributed to the rising temperatures.
After enduring freezing temperatures and snowfall, Spain and other parts of Europe experienced bitterly cold weather and rainstorms last week. The recent week witnessed many cities recording the highest temperatures for this time of the year in more than 20 years, as per AEMET spokesman Marcelino Nuñez. For instance, the interior eastern town of Chelva recorded a temperature of 29.6 degrees Celsius (85 Fahrenheit) on Thursday, which is unusually high for this time of the year. The agency mentioned that the minimum and maximum temperatures are averaging 5-10 degrees Celsius (9-18 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal.
The warm weather has resulted in crowded beaches from southwestern Cádiz to northeastern Barcelona, which are generally associated with the summer months. Núñez noted that while it is not possible to directly attribute the current high temperatures to the climate crisis without conducting studies, they do coincide with an increasing trend of unusually high temperatures that experts associate with climate change. He emphasized that long-term climate projections over the past 20 years have indicated that such phenomena are likely to occur more frequently, and this is becoming increasingly apparent.
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