Spain and the United States are facing strong heat waves

A heat wave erupted over much of Spain on Sunday, July 11, with very high temperatures, leaving residents and tourists sheltering in the shade or in the cooling of swimming pools. In the Atlantic Ocean, West America is facing its second largest rise in thermometers since the “heat dome” struck the northwestern United States in late June.

The Spanish Meteorological Agency (AMED) has warned of most heat waves in the country, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius for the second day in a row in Madrid and Seville. The first episode of extreme heat in Spain this year is expected to spread eastwards on Monday before temperatures drop. Only a small part of the country’s North Atlantic coast, the climate should be more oceanic.

Some took refuge in the refrigerated galleries of the famous Prado Museum in Madrid and escaped the scorching heat, including the works of Rembrandt, Rubens and El Greco. “We thought it would be a good plan for a day like today.”, 44-year-old Rosa Albaquem testifies as she stands in line to enter the museum with her husband and their 6-year-old daughter. Others go to the nearby retro park, have an artificial lake, or go to the municipal swimming pools.

The 19 outdoor swimming pools in the city were packed Sunday: all tickets were sold out, while their capacity was reduced due to health restrictions due to the corona virus. Authorities recommend that people drink water regularly, wear light clothing and avoid prolonged exposure to the sun. According to meteorologists, temperatures could reach 44 C in the Guadalquivir Valley near Seville on Sunday. The highest temperature ever recorded in Spain was 49 C.

New temperature records may be in the United States

The U.S. is likely to break new temperature records as several regions in the west of the country and their 30 million people are affected by the new heat waves, the second in a few weeks.

The thermometer rose over most of the Pacific edge over the weekend and over large areas west of the Rockies, forecasting even more mercury on Sunday. According to the National Meteorological Service, NWS, Las Vegas equaled its all-time high of 47.2 ° C, reaching the city in the middle of the Nevada desert for the first time in 1942 and three times since 2005.

Forecasters have issued a warning bulletin for a metropolitan area in central Silicon Valley not far from San Francisco and several urban centers, including Phoenix and San Jose. “More than 30 million people affected by heat warning bulletin or warning”The NWS said on Saturday that particularly dangerous high temperatures and dry conditions are expected to continue Sunday.

This new heat wave is coming within the previous three weeks, It affected the western United States and Canada at the end of JuneAs a result, heat recordings in the Canadian province of British Columbia were broken for three consecutive days. The death toll from this first wave is not yet known, but is estimated at several hundred.

June is the hottest month on record in North America, according to data released by the European Union’s Climate Monitoring Service. So far, human activity has caused global temperatures to rise by about 1.1 degrees Celsius, leading to more devastating storms, more intense heat waves, droughts and increased wildfires. According to the International Meteorological Organization and the UK Meteorological Office, the probability of global temperatures rising by 1.5 C over the next five years is 40%.