Spain's First Heatwave Hits, Fans, Water, and Ice Cream Are Essential for Cooling Down

(CNA, Madrid, June 23) - Spain's first heatwave of the year arrived yesterday, with maximum temperatures in many inland areas exceeding 40 degrees Celsius and experiencing tropical nights where minimum temperatures remain above 25 degrees Celsius. In the capital, Madrid, residents and tourists were seen fanning themselves, guzzling water, and eating ice cream to beat the heat.

According to a report by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, the first heatwave of the year officially struck Spain on June 21st, ushering in the hot summer season due to the arrival of a tropical continental air mass from the Sahara Desert.

Today, most of Spain is under extreme high temperatures, including inland Basque Country and the valleys of the Ebro, Tajo, Guadiana, and Guadalquivir rivers, where maximum temperatures have exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.

The Spanish National Meteorological Agency (AEMET) issued a red high-temperature alert, the highest level, for the Basque Country today, and an orange alert, the second highest level, for 11 other autonomous communities.

In addition to the suffocating daytime heat, nights are also unbearably muggy. Tropical nights are expected in parts of central and southern Spain, the Ebro Valley, the Mediterranean coast, and the Balearic Islands, with minimum nighttime temperatures exceeding 25 degrees Celsius.

Facing the rampant heatwave, tourists in Madrid's old town were almost all wearing hats, carrying large bottles of water, or holding cups of iced drinks. While 'fanning' was once considered a 'privilege' for elderly women in Spain, facing the extreme heat, young men and women on the streets were seen fanning themselves non-stop.

Nineteen-year-old traveler Marilou, fanning herself, told CNA that she and her friends came to Madrid from Paris for a vacation and encountered the heatwave, drinking two large bottles of water every day. However, she said, although Madrid is hot, Paris is also terrifyingly hot, "At least the rental apartment here has air conditioning, unlike my home in Paris."

When asked by reporters how they would survive the heatwave while taking shelter under the eaves in Madrid's Plaza Mayor, two Catholic clergy members dressed in black robes shrugged helplessly and replied, "The same as every year," gesturing with their eyes towards the ice cream in their hands and playfully adding, "Just eat more ice cream."

In addition to extreme high temperatures, thunderstorms, strong winds, and dust storms are expected to affect parts of Spain, exacerbating threats to public health and increasing the risk of forest fires.

The Spanish National Meteorological Agency predicts that this heatwave will peak on June 23rd, with inland areas of the northern Basque Country and Cantabria exceeding 40 degrees Celsius. Temperatures in the rural fields of Córdoba province and some valleys in Jaén province in the southern Andalusia region could soar above 44 degrees Celsius. The extreme high temperatures are expected to continue until June 25th before gradually subsiding. (Editor: Wei Shu) 0623

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