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2ND - 8TH JULY 2019 - EDITION 794
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Your Essential Weekly Read
Second heatwave on the way
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second heatwave is due to hit the Alicante province, driving temperatures up to 40 degrees. The mercury hit 36 in Alicante on Sunday with temperatures in Rojales reaching 34 – although with the humidity factor the ‘real feel’ was higher still. Monday saw some reprieve from the severe heat with a slight drop in temperatures and for the most part of this coming week, the heat should be typical for July. However, a second heatwave is due to descend on Friday.
Director of the Climatology Lab at Alicante University, Jorge Olcina warned that the second heatwave, due to manifest on Friday July 5th, will affect the entire Alicante province and temperatures throughout the weekend will be exceptionally high. So, until Thursday, maximum temperatures predicted for the Alicante province are 29 degrees on the coast and 31 inland. On Friday however, these figures will shoot up to 35 degrees in seaside towns and as high as 39 inland. Moreover, according to the Climatology Lab’s weather models, we can expect temperatures of 42 degrees in places of the Vega Baja. Experts say that the second heatwave will not last as long as the one we have just experienced, but the heat will be “especially intense”. According to Sr. Olcina a wave of Saharan air will blow across the peninsula and bringa very warm, dry air mass from Africa over to Alicante and Murcia. Olcina also warned that these bursts of heat will cause the area to become very hot over the coming weeks so another risk factor to consider are torrential rains – not necessarily immediately, but in the long term.
Murcia man one of several heat related deaths Two people have already died from heatstroke in Spain and two more have been hospitalised. Locally, a 45-year-old farmer was admitted in a serious condition with heatstroke symptoms in the intensive care unit of a hospital in Murcia, and a fire fighter from the Catalan Fire Department has also been taken to hospital after suffering from heatstroke while fighting the wildfire in La Ribera d’Ebre in Tarragona. A 17-year-old man died in the early hours of Friday morning in a hospital in Córdoba after being admitted for heatstroke, according to the regional health department. The man was working outside when he began to feel dizzy. He jumped into the pool on the rural property to cool down but when he got out he began to suffer convulsions. The 17-year-old was taken to the Reina Sofía Hospital in Córdoba and died after CPR failed to revive him. Meanwhile, on Thursday, an 80-yearold man died from a possible case of heatstroke in Valladolid. The elderly man died a little before 5.50pm at a street intersection in the city. Emergency services rushed to the spot but when they arrived there was little they could do as the man had already passed away.
Arsonists believed responsible for Elche palm attacks Thousands of date palms have been burnt in UNESCO World Heritage orchards in Elche. Thousands of palm trees were scorched in four separate orchards during the early hours of Saturday morning, according to Alicante’s Provincial Consortium of Fire fighters. The first fire was reported around 0.50am, in a palm orchard in La Hoya. Later, at around 2.25am, there was a second fire in palm orchard near Algorós. Minutes later, another garden had started to burn, this time next to the CV-856 at the 1km mark. Finally, at 6 o’clock in the morning, a fourth fire was reported next to the CV-851 at the 2km mark. A total of 25 fire fighters from the Provincial Consortium arrived from Elche, Crevillent, San Vicente and Almoradí to put out the blaze, alongside a six-strong unit of forest fire fighters. The Palmeral of Elche has close to 200,000 date palm trees, covering 3.5 sq km. It is the only palm grove in Europe, and palmeros still honour agricultural traditions passed down from the Moorish civilisation. Initial signs reportedly indicate the fires were intentional. The Local Police of Elche, together with the Fire Department and the National Police have announced that an investigation has been opened to clarify the causes.