Amid a scorching-hot summer spanning almost all of the northern hemisphere, Portugal and Spain are preparing for temperatures that could break not only the national record -- but a record for the entire continent.
Spain’s current record high is 47.3°C (117.14°F) and Portugal can boast a slightly-higher highest temperature, at 47.4°C. But all that may soon change, as current weather models forecast significantly higher temperatures. It's not out of the question for Portugal to reach a groundbreaking 50°C, surpassing not only the national record but also the European record, which is currently at 48°C (recorded in Athens, Greece, in July 1977).
The probable maximum is set for Saturday, in the southern parts of Portugal and south-western parts of Spain. Met Office forecaster Sophie Yeomans says that the heatwave is directly connected to “a plume of very dry, hot air from Africa.” Although it's unlikely for temperatures to go over 50°C, records may very well be broken, Yeomans says.
“There’s an outside chance of hitting 50C,” said Yeomans. “If somewhere gets the right conditions, it could do [it] but that’s a very low likelihood.”
Other forecasters have echoed this prognosis.
"Friday and Saturday are likely to be the hottest days with a very real chance of breaking records," the forecaster of Meteogroup said.
The Spanish meteorology agency, AEMET, has issued an official warning of extreme temperatures, and authorities are already making emergency preparations for the dramatic heatwave. Some 11,000 firefighters and 56 aircraft have already been deployed and are on standby to tackle forest fires -- that are likely to emerge in the searing heat.
Iberia, the peninsula hosting the two countries, is not the only area suffering from extreme heat. Scandinavia, an area known for its frigid temperatures, is reporting record highs, Greece is ravaged by wildfires, and most parts of France and Germany have been scorching for months. Aside from some mountainous areas and northern latitudes, few areas have been spared.
Although it's very difficult to assign a global trend to individual events, there is already substantial evidence that climate change is connected to these record temperatures. Recent studies have shown that man-made climate change is making heatwaves much more likely and, as was the case in previous years, it's becoming increasingly unlikely that current temperatures and global warming are not connected.
Although record-breaking temperatures are not the norm yet, it's becoming increasingly plausible that this will be the case in the very near future. The evidence is indicating that climate change is increasingly affecting our lives, whether we care to admit it or not.
