The intense heat you are experiencing Canary Islands This week there is no respite, not even at night. In the fourth day of high temperatures Only the high mountain stations have escaped temperatures above 20 degrees. The tropical nights They are an increasingly common reality in the Canary Islands and, in fact, this phenomenon occurs three times more now than 50 years ago. With thermometers touching 40 degrees throughout the Archipelago, this time in the middle of autumn, experts point ruthlessly towards a single culprit: climate change.
He summer is taking over the Islands. “In the Canary Islands there have been other Octobers in which tropical nights have been recorded occasionally, but in the last 50 years there is an evident upward trend,” says Pedro Dorta, geographer of the Chair of Disaster Risks and Resilient Cities of the University of La Laguna (ULL). In this sense, the highest frequency of tropical nightstorrid or infernal, is one of the main consequences described in global warming models.
The municipality of Frontera, in El Hierro, registers a maximum of 40.5 degrees, the second highest in the country
In the Canary Islands the increase in temperatures is manifesting itself in extreme heat episodes more recurrent. During this year, in meteorological stations such as Santa Cruz de Tenerife They have recorded 50 days of extreme heat (they are among the 5% warmest in the series) and only one of extreme cold (among the 5% coldest in the historical series). But the most unusual thing is that these hot days begin to occur outside of their usual time, in summer.
What has happened in the last four days and until next Wednesday, is a live example of the climate paradigm change that the Archipelago is undergoing. Today the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife has been the most affected by the daytime heat. Specifically, the municipality of Frontera, in The ironwhich until now had remained unaffected by the increase in temperatures, has registered a maximum of 40.5 degrees, the second highest temperature in the country. It was followed by Tacoronte, in the north of Tenerife, which at 2:00 p.m. recorded a maximum of 37.3 degrees and San Cristobal from La Laguna, with a maximum temperature of 36.3 degrees.
In the province of The Gran Canarian palmsthe most affected area has been Agaetein Gran Canaria, where temperatures reached 37.1 degrees. Also on the capital island there are The Village of San Nicoláswith 36.2 degrees or Agüimes, where 35.9 degrees were reached. However, Gran Canaria has not only reached very high temperatures during the day, it has also done so at night. Specific, Maspalomasin the south of the island, reached 36 degrees during the night, which correlates with a hellish night.
Given these data, Health has extended the warnings to all the Islands due to the health risk due to high temperatures. Specifically, the red notice has been activated in 9 municipalities (6 in Gran Canaria, 1 in Lanzarote and 2 of Fuerteventura), the orange notice at 5 (2 at The Palm1 in Gran Canaria, 1 in Fuerteventura and 1 in Lanzarote) and the yellow notice in 12 municipalities (4 in Gran Canaria, 4 in Lanzarote, 2 in Tenerife and 2 in La Gomera)
“During this episode, several records will be broken,” says David Suárez, delegate of the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) in the Canary Islands. In the four days that it has been affecting the Archipelago, at least one has already been defeated, that of the Tenerife South. This October 3 reached a maximum temperature of 39.4 degrees, the highest for this month in the entire historical series that begins in 1983. But, in addition, this Tuesday was the hottest October 3 in Spain since, at least, 1950 and also marked the fifth consecutive historical record for a warm day, after the previous four days, according to Aemet spokesperson, Rubén del Campo.
“It is the first time that an orange level warning has been activated due to high temperatures in Spain in the month of October since the weather alert plan was launched in 2006,” highlights the spokesperson, who adds that in the archipelago the temperatures will continue at these same levels for “the next seven days” so it seems “very likely” that this unusual heat will continue in the archipelago for at least another week.
The current thermal anomaly across the planet is one degree
But the fact that the new records exceed historical maximum temperatures is no longer extraordinary. “The volume of records is so great that they stop being news,” reflects Dorta, who also remembers that the previous figures are not breaking by a few tenths but rather by degrees. “They shatter records,” she adds.
This 2023 is being an extraordinary year across the planet. “The statistics are scandalous and almost inexplicable,” says Dorta. The data that has been collected in recent months shows that the growth in temperatures is no longer gradual. “It has taken an important leap,” says Dorta.
In September the thermal anomaly on the planet was a degree, compared to the 0.5 that it marked in 2022. An annual variation in temperature much higher than what the planet had been experiencing since 1980. In many places in the world, however, the predicted scenario has been brought forward almost 20 years. “In some places in the world, situations that had been predicted for 2050 are occurring.”
In addition to climate change, experts allude to the appearance of The boy In the pacific. A natural climate phenomenon that occurs cyclically and is believed to have an impact on the global climate by raising temperatures. “What we are not clear about is what will happen once El Niño ends,” something that is expected for this spring, as Dorta explains. “It may be that temperatures soften, but also that this is just the beginning of having reached a point of no return,” she insists.
Hence I emphasize the need to quickly take action on the matter. “The effects will not only be on the health of the population, it will also have repercussions on the environment, agriculture and extreme phenomena and “We have to be prepared for it.”he concludes.
