Rain in Spain? No, it’s 28C...
After UK’s drenching, winter sunseekers enjoy hottest January day for 38 years
AFTER weeks of storms and snow spanning the Scottish Highlands all the way down to the Cornish coast, Britain has had rather a miserable time of it this winter.
But over in Spain, the rain was nowhere to be seen – as scenes on Benidorm Beach could be mistaken for a summer’s day.
In the holiday resort and across southern Spain, sunbathers lined the beaches amid a January heatwave that has brought temperatures of 28C (82.4F). One observatory in Murcia, in the south east, recorded 28.2C (82.8F) and another saw the temperature peak at 28.5C (83.3F) – making Thursday the hottest January day on record for the last 38 years.
It is not all sunshine and smiles though, as the high temperatures have raised fears of the impact of climate change in the area.
In the ski resort of Puerto de Navacerrada near Madrid – 1,900 metres above sea level and usually coated in snow at this time of year – temperatures did not drop below 10C (50F) on Wednesday night. It comes after an anticyclone above the Mediterranean brought hot air into the south.
The winter warmth could last for several weeks into February and December was also hot, with temperatures reaching 29.9C (85.8F) in Malaga – a record for the month.
Beachgoers made the most of this week’s balmy weather, but others have expressed concern about the heatwave. ‘We’re a bit surprised that it’s so pleasantly warm. It’s nice for us now, but we don’t think it’s completely normal,’ German tourist Thorsten Petersen, 66, told Reuters in Madrid.
Adela, a local pensioner, said: ‘Those who say there is no climate change just have to look at what’s happening – it’s either too cold or too warm. This is a disaster’.
Scientists have linked the rising temperatures and dry conditions in southern Europe to climate change. In Spain, rocketing temperatures have caused consecutive heatwaves, sparking wildfires and droughts.
In Barcelona – Spain’s second largest city – water reservoir levels fell to around 17 per cent of their capacity in mid- January. If they fall by just one more percentage point, the region must declare a state of emergency. ‘There are no studies yet that have evaluated the long-term trend of this type of event but it is clear that we are experiencing this abnormal situation more frequently,’ said David Corell, a researcher at the University of Valencia. The heatwave has also affected other parts of Europe, with temperatures across the border reaching a high of 23C (73.4F) in Leiria, Portugal.
Meanwhile UK temperatures this weekend are set to stay below 10C (50F), with weather conditions mainly dry. Average temperatures of 5C (41F) are expected for the remainder of January, but could plummet as low as minus 10C (14F) in southern Scotland and northern England in the coming weeks.
‘It’s nice now, but it’s not normal’