- In Navarre and Álava the alert is red and in Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia it is yellow. Forecasts indicate that the heat sheet can be extended until next Monday, with temperatures of 30 at sea and much higher indoors. For next Monday in Tudela, up to 43 degrees are announced, for example.
In Navarre, recent fires have been banned in Navarre, barbecues and other activities that can cause fires, and in Álava some 140 hectares have already been burned in two fires, one on the grounds of the council of Mendoza in Vitoria-Gasteiz and another in Garaio.
This is the second heat wave this year and the consequences of climate change are becoming increasingly noticeable, both in the hot water on our coast and in the large amounts of jellyfish or algae that are being seen. According to experts, Europe is warming faster than other continents and according to the Copernicus observation satellite, the second hottest of recent June records, with an average of 1.6 degrees.
Health care!
But in addition to the fires and the general concerns of the population, the Ministry of Health has alerted and stated that the health of 18 million people in the Spanish State is in serious danger, placing special emphasis on the elderly and recommending their protection against heat. We must not forget that in the hot flashes experienced in the last twenty years thousands of people have died from the heat. The most famous was the 2003 heat wave, which led to the deaths of over 20,000 people in Europe.
The debate on the dead figures is always intense, as some states do not consider the dead as a result of a heat wave or simply do not provide data. According to Wikipedia, that year in France there were 14:082 deaths from heat, 7,000 deaths in Germany, 4,000 deaths in Spain, 2,139 in the United Kingdom and 3,000 in Italy.
On 3 August 2003, a temperature of 43 degrees was recorded in Aranguren in Bizkaia and at noon it exceeded 40 degrees in Zarautz.