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In December, Spain experienced its hottest temperature on record, with hot air causing the mercury to rise close to 30C right before Christmas.
During the summer, there were four instances of extreme heat in southern Spain, which has experienced its hottest year ever recorded. Currently, the region is facing additional extreme weather conditions, which experts predict are a result of climate change.
Visitors at a ski resort noted that mountains, usually covered in a meter of snow, were surprisingly “green and lush” due to unseasonably warm temperatures. Some areas even experienced record-breaking temperatures that were nearly 5 degrees Celsius higher than usual.
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On Tuesday, visitors in Malaga experienced abnormally warm weather.
From the 10th to the 12th of December, Spain experienced record-breaking heat with temperatures reaching 29.9C in Malaga and over 27C in Valencia.
According to Aemet spokesperson Ruben del Campo, this is among the warmest air masses to have passed over Spain in December.
According to Mr Del Campo, the current heat and forecasted low levels of rain until the end of February do not bode well for winter sports that rely on plentiful snow. This snow, once melted, also serves as a vital source of water for the upcoming spring and summer seasons.
The unseasonably warm weather is expected to come to an end on Wednesday, as Aemet predicts that colder air from the north will cause temperatures to return to typical levels for December.
Visitors at the well-known Navacerrada ski resort near Madrid were worried about the insufficient snowfall.
At this point in the year, Navacerrada resort usually has a lot of snow.
Tania, a 32-year-old marine biologist who chose to only share her first name, expressed her fear at the current state of the landscape. Despite it being the time of year when everything should be covered in snow and frozen, it is instead unexpectedly green and thriving. She shared her thoughts with Reuters.
66-year-old Vicente Solsona, a retired professor from the eastern province of Castellon, believes that Navacerrada should have received at least one meter of snow by now. He expressed concern about the current situation, stating that irreversible damage is being done.
Meteorologists have cautioned that the occurrence of extreme heat is becoming increasingly probable due to climate change, while the likelihood of extreme cold, such as Spain’s record low temperature of -30C in a populated area, is decreasing as its 60th anniversary approaches this year.
According to Aemet forecasters, there have been significantly more frequent and intense warm episodes compared to cold ones. This trend has been particularly noticeable in the past two years, with a total of 77 warm day records and only 2 cold day records being recorded (which is much higher than the expected 10 records for each over a two-year period).
“Human actions, leading to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, are the undeniable cause of climate change. This phenomenon increases the likelihood of breaking high temperature records, although low temperature records still occur.”
Further information provided by Reuters.
Source: independent.co.uk
