In Spain it should be as hot this weekend, especially in the Mediterranean Sea, as it usually is in June or July. The temperature might rise to over 30 degrees in Murcia, according to the national weather service Aemet on Saturday. The weather experts emphasized that this might be a heat record for March. In other parts of the country it is also getting much too warm for the time of year.
On the popular holiday island of Mallorca, which was still struggling with snow chaos two weeks ago, it is pleasant at around 22 degrees. In general, the climate in Spain, as in other parts of Europe, has been getting hotter and drier for years, which is largely attributed to man-made climate change.
Heat and lack of rain had hit Spain and other regions of Europe badly last year. With peak temperatures sometimes exceeding 40 degrees, it was one of the hottest years in Spain since weather records began.
Since the usual rainfall was far too low in parts of the country last autumn and winter, the water shortage threatens to worsen in the coming summer. The reservoirs are currently just over 40 percent full on average. The average for the past ten years at this time of year was 58 percent. The danger of violent forest fires like last year also remains high.
The situation in Andalusia and Catalonia is dramatic. The reservoirs there are only regarding a quarter full. In Catalonia in the north-east of the country with the tourist metropolis of Barcelona, water consumption in agriculture and industry is already restricted. Only trees may be watered in parks and gardens. If there is no further rain, the head of the regional water authority, Samuel Reyes, expects restrictions on private drinking water consumption from autumn, as he told the newspaper “El País”.