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☆ Skiing: A new artificial snow-making technology could offer a lifeline to struggling resorts
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-20 | by ( Laura Paddison | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

CNN —Nestled in the Pyrenees mountains, La Molina is Spain’s oldest ski resort. An industry in perilSpain has been struggling with scorching heat waves and a years-long drought, and Catalonia, the region where La Molina is located, has been particularly hard hit. But La Molina is far from the only ski resort trying to plot a future in a warmer, dryer world. “Current best estimates are that 95% of ski resorts rely on snowmaking to some extent to remain viable,” Orr told CNN. That’s exactly what the La Molina project aims to do — to see if the lab results can be replicated in the real world.

Persons: Molina, La Molina, FGC, Albert Verdaguer, Verdaguer, ”, ” Verdaguer, It’s, Ramón Pascual Berghaenel, Madeleine Orr, ” Orr, Snow, Jordy Hendrikx, “, Hendrikx, La, Hendrickx, snowmaking, Laura Rodríguez, ” Hendrikx, let’s, Vedaguer Organizations: CNN, Laboratory, Barcelona Institute of Materials Science, Northern Locations: Spain, Catalonia, Europe, Antarctica New Zealand, La Molina

☆ Army Called in to Rescue About 600 Spanish Motorists Stuck in Snow
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-19 | by ( Jan. | At P.M. | ) www.usnews.com time to read: +1 min

MADRID (Reuters) - Army units were mobilised to help about 600 drivers who were stuck on a motorway in heavy snow as Storm Juan blanketed many parts of Spain, authorities said on Friday. Snowfalls left motorists stranded for hours on the N-122 road between Soria and Agreda in northern Spain so authorites said they had dispatched troops from a base in Zaragoza to help move the drivers. Temperatures plunged to minus 13 Celsius (8.6 Fahrenheit) in Soria, AEMET, the state weather forecaster, said on Friday. Heavy rains fell in the western region of Extremadura and in Catalonia in northeastern Spain, Aemet added. The storm was expected to pass by Saturday, forecasters said.

Persons: Juan blanketed, authorites, Miguel Ángel Clavero, Aemet, Graham Keeley, Sandra Maler Organizations: Army, Saturday Locations: MADRID, Spain, Soria, Agreda, Zaragoza, Aragon, AEMET, Extremadura, Catalonia

☆ Storm Ciaran kills six, lashes Europe with strong winds and rain
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

A truck driver was killed when a tree fell on him in France while a second death was reported in Le Havre, according to authorities. [1/7]A surfer tries to navigate through rough sea during Storm Ciaran, in Tramore, Ireland, November 2, 2023. REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne Acquire Licensing RightsFrench Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin told reporters that in addition to the death of truck driver, 15 people, including seven firefighters, had been injured. Still, the storm in France showed some signs of abating with the Meteo France weather service reducing its alert for strong winds in Mache, Finistere and Cotes d'Armor from red to orange. La Pinilla, a ski resort north of Madrid, and Estaca de Bares in Galicia registered wind velocities of more than 150 kph, AEMET said.

Persons: Storm Ciaran, Storm Babet, Clodagh, Gerald Darmanin, Darmanin, AENA, AEMET, Kate Holton, Dominique Vidalon, Farouq Suleiman, Bart Meijer, Charlotte Van Campenhout, Emma Pinedo, Charlie Devereux, Angus MacSwan, Gareth Jones, Lisa Shumaker Organizations: Amsterdam PARIS, REUTERS, French, Cotes d'Armor, Dutch Airline KLM, Inti Landauro, Thomson Locations: France, Spain, Belgium, Netherlands, Jersey, Amsterdam, BRUSSELS, Europe, Le Havre, Madrid, Belgian, Ghent, Finistere, Brittany, Storm, Northern Ireland, Britain, Tramore, Ireland, Roubaix, Brest, Cotes, Paris, Galicia, Cantabria, Bares, London

☆ Temperatures in Spain shatter records as October kicks off
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-02 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

REUTERS/Jon Nazca/File photo Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Oct 2 (Reuters) - The start of October in Spain this year has been the warmest since records began, the country's meteorological agency AEMET said on Monday, with nearly 40% of weather stations recording maximum temperatures above 32 degrees Celsius (89.6 Fahrenheit). Two cities in south-central Spain, Badajoz and Montoro, broke the heat record for continental Spain during the month of October with 38 C and 38.2 C, respectively. The previous record was 37.5 C, documented in the resort city of Marbella in October 2014. The weather station at Madrid's iconic Retiro Park, which is over a century old, equalled its October record of 30 C set in 1930. He added that future summers would not only be hotter, but also longer, extending into the traditionally mild and rainy autumn.

Persons: Jon Nazca, AEMET, Ruben del Campo, Del, David Latona, Inti Landauro, Alex Richardson Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, TVE, Thomson Locations: Ronda, Spain, Rights MADRID, Badajoz, Montoro, Marbella, Retiro, Del Campo

☆ Olive oil prices surge over 100% to record highs, sparking cooking oil thefts
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-19 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Bottles of olive oil and sunflower oil at a Mercadona SA supermarket in Barcelona, Spain. Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty ImagesOlive oil prices spiked to fresh records as severe droughts in major producing countries crimp supplies — and drive up thefts in cooking oil. Spain, the world's largest producer and exporter of olive oil, has been battered by an intense drought for months. Olive oil thievesPrices of olive oil in Spain's Andalusia soared to €8.45 ($9.02) per kilogram in September, Mintec's benchmark showed. Shortly before that, thieves made off with 6,000 liters of extra virgin olive oil worth €50,000 from Terraverne oil mill, Spanish newspaper El Munco said.

Persons: Kyle Holland, Marin Serrano El Lagar, El Munco Organizations: Mercadona SA, Bloomberg, Getty, United States Department of Agriculture, CNBC, International Olive Council Locations: Barcelona, Spain, Italy, Greece, Spain's Andalusia, Spanish

MADRID (AP) — Spain this year recorded its third hottest summer since official records began 62 years ago, authorities said Thursday, with temperatures peaking at 46.8 C (116 F) as the country's severe drought dragged on. The average summer temperature was 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.34 degrees Fahrenheit) above normal, the Spanish weather agency AEMET said. The World Meteorological Organization said last week that last month wasn't only the world’s hottest August scientists ever recorded by far. Since 1961, mainland Spain’s average temperature has risen 1.6 degrees C (2.88 degrees F), according to AEMET. Northeast Spain is enduring its most extreme drought since records began.

Persons: AEMET Organizations: MADRID, —, World Meteorological Organization Locations: — Spain, Spanish, Spain

CNN —A 10-year-old boy has been rescued near Madrid after spending the night clinging to a tree to escape severe flooding as Storm Dana lashed the country with torrential rains in recent days, killing at least three people. The Pedrera Bridge over the Alberche River in Aldea del Fresno, Spain, on September 4, 2023. The storm follows a summer of extreme weather for Spain, which has grappled with searing heatwaves and devastating wildfires. Scientists are clear that extreme weather will only get more intense and more frequent as the human-caused climate crisis accelerates. The severe rainfall eased on Tuesday, with the country’s national weather service AEMET downgrading alerts for the region from red to yellow.

Persons: Storm Dana, Alejandro Martínez Vélez, Emiliano García, Garcia, Page Organizations: CNN, RTVE, Europa Press Locations: Madrid, Aldea del Fresno, Spain, Toledo, Castilla, La Mancha

☆ Subway, train lines, roads closed in Madrid, central Spain after heavy rain
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

REUTERS/Susana Vera Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Sept 4 (Reuters) - A few subway lines in Madrid and high-speed train connections with southern cities were closed on Monday morning and two men were missing after torrential rain hit central Spain. Several roads in the Madrid region were closed as half a dozen bridges were torn down by water overflowing the riverbanks. The sudden torrential rain that hit the country transformed streets into rivers in Madrid, Castile, Catalonia and Valencia regions. Several subway lines were closed in the centre of Madrid on Monday morning. Some high-speed connections between Madrid and Andalusia region, in southern Spain, resumed later on Monday, but trains were operating at lower-than-normal speeds.

Persons: Susana Vera, Javier Chivite, Chivite, Rain, Inti Landauro, Alex Richardson Organizations: Spain's State Meteorological Agency, REUTERS, Rights, National Weather Agency, Thomson Locations: Spain's, Madrid, Spain, Rights MADRID, Aldea del Fresno, Castile, Catalonia, Valencia, Andalusia

☆ Madrid residents told to stay at home as torrential rain sweeps across Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

@anastasia.flidlider_watercolor via Instagram/via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsMADRID, Sept 3 (Reuters) - Madrid's mayor on Sunday advised all residents to stay at home as the capital braced itself for torrential rain and storms affecting parts of Spain. It said up to 120 litres per square metre of rain could fall over 12 hours in Madrid. "Due to the exceptional and abnormal situation, in which rainfall records will be broken, I ask the people of Madrid to stay at home today," Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida wrote on X, formerly Twitter. LaLiga suspended an evening match between Atletico Madrid and Sevilla at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium in Madrid due to the alert. In Alcanar, Tarragona, on Spain's east coast, emergency services have also confined residents to their homes due to flooding after 215 litres per square metre of rain in the past 24 hours.

Persons: AEMET, Jose Luis Martinez, Almeida, Manuel Loro, Elena Rodriguez, Guillermo Martinez, Jessica Jones, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Sunday, Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla, Wanda Metropolitano, Thomson Locations: Alcanar, Spain, Instagram, Rights MADRID, National, Madrid, Toledo province, Cadiz, Tarragona, Spain's

☆ Madrid residents advised to stay indoors as capital braces for torrential weather
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-03 | by ( Claudia Rebaza | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +1 min

CNN —Residents in Madrid were instructed by city authorities to stay indoors Sunday with Storm Dana set to lash the Spanish capital. The state meteorological agency, AEMET, issued a warning for Madrid, Toledo and Cadiz, where Dana is expected to bring strong rains. According to AEMET, up to 120 liters per square meter of rain could fall over Madrid in 12 hours. Madrid’s emergency services sent texts to residents warning them of flood risks and advising them against using vehicles. Atletico Madrid wrote on X that Sunday’s LaLiga football match against Sevilla had also been postponed due to the storm.

Persons: Storm Dana, AEMET, Dana, AEMAT, José Luis Martínez, Almeida, ” Martinez Organizations: CNN, Residents, Atletico Madrid, Sevilla Locations: Madrid, Toledo, Cadiz, Valencia

☆ Wildfires rage in Greece, Spain and Italy as heatwave spreads
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-22 | by ( Alexandros Avramidis | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/5] Flames burn a tree as a wildfire rages in Alexandroupolis, on the region of Evros, Greece. Authorities urged residents to avoid the heat as France, Italy, Spain and elsewhere suffered hot, dry and windy conditions that scientists have linked to climate change. WILDFIRES IN SPAIN, ITALYThe blaze has burned through 15,000 hectares in 12 municipalities forcing the evacuation of thousands of people. In France, four southern regions - the Rhone, Drome, Ardeche and Haute-Loire - were placed under red alert, the most serious warning. Grape-pickers in wine-producing regions of southern France have been advised to start work on the harvest in the early hours of the morning to avoid sweltering in a late summer heatwave.

Persons: Alexandros Avramidis, I've, Nikos Gioktsidis, Vassilis Varthakogiannis, AEMET, Alessandro Vitaliano, ANSA, Karolina Tagaris, Dominique Vidalon, Gisela Vignoni, Crispian Balmer, Ingrid Melander, Janet Lawrence Organizations: Flames, REUTERS, Greece Firefighters, heatwave, University Hospital, ERT, Rio Marina, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Alexandroupolis, Evros, Greece, Spain, Italy, Europe, France, Turkey, Tenerife, SPAIN, ITALY, Elba, Rio, Rome, Milan, Florence, Drome, Ardeche, Haute, Loire, Rhone, Alexandropoulis, Athens, Paris

☆ Firefighters close to stabilising Tenerife fire as evacuees start returning home
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-21 | by ( Nacho Doce | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] FILE PHTO: EIRIF forest firefighters work during the extinction of the forest fire in Arafo on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain August 16, 2023. REUTERS/Borja Suarez/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsTENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Firefighters on Monday battled to stabilise a huge wildfire that has devastated forests on the Spanish island of Tenerife for six days and forced thousands to evacuate their homes. "The worst is behind us," the Canary Islands' regional leader Fernando Clavijo said on Monday morning on Cadena SER radio station. Clavijo added the fire was almost certainly man-made and said police were investigating to identify and capture the arsonists. However, AEMET said there was a chance Tenerife would see some rainfall later on Monday.

Persons: Borja Suarez, Fernando Clavijo, Clavijo, AEMET, Nacho Doce, Inti Landauro, David Latona, Sharon Singleton Organizations: REUTERS, Rights, Cadena SER, Thomson Locations: Arafo, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain, Rights TENERIFE, Islands, Candelaria

TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Aug 18 (Reuters) - A wildfire that has blanketed much of the Spanish island of Tenerife with smoke and ash has slowed its advance thanks to containment efforts and more favourable weather during the night, authorities said on Friday. Fernando Clavijo, regional leader of the Canary Islands, said there were no more evacuations overnight and officials were considering lifting restrictions on almost 4,000 residents who had been ordered to stay home. [1/2]Pine trees burn in a forest fire in Candelaria on the island of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain August 16, 2023. Scorching heat and dry weather this summer have contributed to unusually severe wildfires in Europe and Canada. On Friday, Spain's AEMET weather service expected maximum temperatures of 32C in Tenerife.

Persons: Fernando Clavijo, We've, Borja Suarez, Mount Teide, Andrei Khalip, Frances Kerry Organizations: REUTERS, Teide Astrophysics, Thomson Locations: TENERIFE, Canary Islands, Spain, Spanish, Tenerife, Candelaria, Europe, Canada, Maui, Lahaina

☆ Spain roasts as summer's third heatwave peaks
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] People queue in the sun outside Almudena Cathedral as they wait to enter the Royal Palace during the third heatwave of the summer in Madrid, Spain, August 8, 2023. The mercury could also rise to 40 C in the Basque Country in northeastern Spain, an area less accustomed to such high temperatures, the state weather agency AEMET said. Temperatures in some areas in the southern half of Spain remained above 27 C on Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, AEMET spokesperson Ruben del Campo said. As Spain suffocates under high temperatures, ice on its mountains is melting. The melting sped up in 2021 and 2022, which were particularly warm years in Spain.

Persons: Susana Vera MADRID, AEMET, Ruben del Campo, Del Campo, Charlie Devereux, Inti Landauro, Angus MacSwan Organizations: REUTERS, Visitors, Prado, Tourists, Thomson Locations: Almudena, Madrid, Spain, Basque, Southern, sightseers, Europe, Catalonia

☆ Drought in Spain empties reservoirs, forces limits on water use
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-08 | by ( Horaci Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Residents enjoy Boadella reservoir, which is 20% of its capacity, as Spain braces for the third heatwave of the summer near the Spanish-French border, in Darnius, Spain, August 6, 2023. REUTERS/Nacho DoceAGULLANA, Spain, Aug 8 (Reuters) - Artur Duran holds his hand out by his waist to show the level of water he remembers two years ago at the Darnius Boadella reservoir in northeastern Spain. Catalonia's authorities last week imposed new water usage restrictions on 22 villages around the reservoir, near the French border, as the aquifer supplying them is also emptying. Several heatwaves recorded in Spain and wider Europe this summer have worsened the drought, lowering reservoirs' levels as water evaporation and consumption increased, said Ruben del Campo, spokesperson for Spain's meteorological agency AEMET. The village of Agullana with 900 residents has been keeping its water usage below the 200-litre cap for several months, but its mayor said further steps will be implemented.

Persons: Doce, Artur Duran, sunbathed, Ruben del Campo, Josep Jovell, Horaci Garcia, Joan Faus, Andrei Khalip, Alexandra Hudson Organizations: REUTERS, Reuters, Authorities, Alexandra Hudson Our, Thomson Locations: Spain, Spanish, Darnius, Catalonia, Spain's Andalusia, Europe, Agullana

☆ Spain's election: With fans, swimwear and sweat, Spaniards brave summer heat to vote
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Aislinn Laing | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, July 23 (Reuters) - Spaniards got up early, voted in swimwear and turned ballot papers into fans to beat sweltering heat on Sunday as they took part in an election that many saw as ill-timed in the middle of summer. By midday, long queues were reported outside polling stations, where staff installed fans, set up portable air conditioning machines and gave out bottles of water to keep voters and polling staff cool. There were sporadic reports on local media of elderly people fainting as they went to vote. Another 2.47 million people - about 7% of those eligible to vote in Spain voted before Sunday by post. "I've always voted early," one elderly man told RTVE.

Persons: I've, RTVE, Jose, Alberto Nunez Feijoo, Pedro Sanchez, AEMET, Aislinn Laing, Horaci Garcia, Frances Kerry Organizations: Twitter, Reuters, People's Party, Socialist, Thomson Locations: MADRID, Mallorca, Spain, Malaga, Barcelona, Madrid, Andalusia, Navarra, Aragon

[1/3] People cool off near the Spanish Steps, during a heatwave across Italy, as temperatures are expected to rise further in the coming days, in Rome, Italy July 18, 2023. They have added fresh urgency to talks this week between the United States and China, the world's top greenhouse gas polluters. "Whilst most of the attention focuses on daytime maximum temperatures, it is the overnight temperatures which have the biggest health risks, especially for vulnerable populations," it said. The European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service says 2022 and 2021 were the continent's hottest summers on record. In a large part of the territory, night-time temperatures were in the top 5% of the highest recorded at this time of year.

Persons: Remo Casilli, John Kerry, Xi Jinping, Carlo Spanu, Anita Elshoy, Elshoy, AEMET, Talim, Angelo Amante, Emma Farge, Giselda, Crispian Balmer, Angeliki Koutantou, Emma Pinedo Gabrielle Tétrault, Farber, Matthias Williams, Janet Lawrence Organizations: REUTERS, World Meteorological Organization, WMO, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, Europe, U.S, Asia Italy, ROME, Asia, United States, Sardinia, Lazio, heatwaves, Death, China's, Greece, Swiss, India, South Korea, China, Beijing, North America, North Africa, Sicily, Sulcis, Norway, Spain, Catalonia, Aragon, Mallorca, Andujar, 44.9C, Toledo, Dervenochoria, Athens

☆ Global temperatures near record highs as US, China meet on climate
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Charlie Devereux | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

REUTERS/Remo CasilliSummary Weather extremes experienced around the worldBiggest polluters United States and China meetClimate crisis 'is happening', says WHO bossMADRID, July 17 (Reuters) - Global temperatures were soaring to historic highs as the world's two biggest carbon emitters, the United States and China, sought on Monday to reignite talks on climate change. Wildfires in Europe raged ahead of a second heat wave in two weeks that was set to send temperatures as high as 48C. Ahead of meeting Chinese counterpart Xie Zhenhua in Beijing, U.S. climate envoy John Kerry urged China to partner with the United States to cut methane emissions and coal-fired power. Prolonged high temperatures in China are threatening power grids and crops and raising concerns about a repeat of last year's drought, the most severe in 60 years. The heat dome across the western United States also helped to generate heavy rains in the northeast, claiming at least five lives.

Persons: Remo, MADRID, reignite, Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Xie Zhenhua, John Kerry, Talim, Charon, Matilde, Angelica Aureli, it's, Ruben del Campo, Sergio Rodriguez, Kayla Hill, Carlo Buontempo, Buontempo, Charlie Devereux, Emma Pinedo, Giselda Vagnoni, Emma Farge, Kate Abnett, Andrew Cawthorne Organizations: REUTERS, United, World Health, ACT, Italy's Air Force, La Palma, Canaries, TVE, World Meteorological Organization, National, Thomson Locations: Italy, Rome, United States, China, Sanbao, Europe, Beijing, U.S, Guangdong, Hainan, South Korea, Seoul, Sardinia, Spain, La, Florida, Furnace Creek, Salt Lake City , Utah, Madrid, Geneva, Brussels

CNN —A blistering and deadly heat wave in Italy this week could break records, with temperatures predicted to soar past 45 degrees Celsius (113 Fahrenheit) in some parts of the country. The warning comes on the heels of a report published in Nature on Monday, which found that last year’s heat wave killed 61,672 people in Europe. The heat wave is also affecting other European countries including France, Germany and Spain. This heat wave follows another one in Spain in April, which saw temperatures soar to 38.8 degrees Celsius, smashing the previous national monthly record. Scientists found that this heat wave – which also affected Portugal, Morocco and Algeria – was made 100 times more likely by the human-caused climate crisis.

Persons: ” Luca Mercalli, Nicola Fratoianni, ” Fratoianni, Giuseppe Napolitano, Emanuele Perrone, Mercalli, Gregorio Borgia, Cerberus, Algeria – Organizations: CNN, Italian Meteorological Society, Twitter, Health Locations: Italy, Italian, Lodi, Rome, Tempio Pausania, Sardinia, Europe, Florence, Bologna, Nature, United States, Sicily, France, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria

☆ As the world gets hotter, millions of workers face up to the challenge of heat stress and productivity losses
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-05 | by ( Anmar Frangoul | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

According to those involved in the report's production, warmer working environments can create some very challenging scenarios indeed. Issues relating to productivity also apply to equipment, facilities and buildings, Fox said. "The economic losses due to heat stress at work were estimated at US$280 billion in 1995," the U.N. agency said. "This clothing can be quite cumbersome … and quite hot to wear, even under cold conditions," Fox said. Fox noted that buildings of this type haven't particularly been designed with heat ingress — especially extreme heat ingress — in mind.

Persons: Tim Fox, Fox, Marco Bertorello, that's, Laura Kent, Jorge Guerrero, Yolanda Díaz, Díaz, It's Organizations: World Meteorological Organization, of Mechanical Engineers, CNBC, International Labour Organization, Workers, AFP, Getty, ILO, Fox, Factories, Health, Safety, Spain's, Labour, Social, State Meteorological Agency, Spain's Labour Ministry, Reuters, heatstroke . Trade, Union Locations: Europe, Italy, Ronda, Spain, Madrid, heatstroke, Britain, Ireland

☆ Villagers evacuated as wildfire ravages woodlands in western Spain
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

MADRID, May 19 (Reuters) - Emergency crews evacuated around 600 villagers in western Spain overnight as a wildfire blamed on arsonists ravaged up to 8,000 hectares (19,800 acres) near the border with Portugal, officials said. "The are very strong gusts of wind ... that make efforts to extinguish it difficult," Military Emergency Unit commander David Barona told state TV channel 24H. "It's a very large attack on vegetation and the area," the head of Extremadura emergency services Nieves Villar told reporters, referring to the suspicions of arson. An unusually dry winter across parts of southern Europe coming after three years of below-average rainfall in Spain have raised the risk of wildfires. A total of 493 fires destroyed a record 307,000 hectares in Spain last year, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.

☆ Spain to ban some outdoor working during extreme heat conditions
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Spanish farmers in Catalonia stage a tractor go-slow protest against the effect of drought in Lleida, Spain May 9, 2023. REUTERS/Albert GeaMADRID, May 10 (Reuters) - Spain will ban some outdoor working during extreme heat conditions, Labour Minister Yolanda Diaz said on Wednesday, as the country faces high temperatures more frequently as a result of climate change. The ban will be in place when the national weather agency AEMET issues an alert warning about a severe or extreme risk of high temperatures. The measure will affect outdoors working such as street cleaning and agriculture, the Labour Ministry added. So far this year, Spain has recorded 11 hotter-than-normal days, more than twice the number typically observed during a full year.

Spain has one swimming pool for every 37 residents, and these, too, are now in the spotlight. While her swimming pool has been empty for five years since her children grew up, Garcia, 61, said the town has been stigmatised unfairly for its pools. Pools are being used as a scapegoat for a lack of coherent water policy in Spain, she said. It is a sentiment shared by Gonzalo Delacamara, director of the IE Centre for Water & Climate Adaptation in Madrid. While the use of water to fill swimming pools during a drought is irresponsible, the bulk of Spain's water resources are taken by the agriculture sector, accounting for 70% of water usage, he said.

☆ Severe drought spreads in Portugal, officials seek EU help
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Around 90% of mainland Portugal is suffering from drought, with severe drought alone affecting one-fifth of its territory, twice as much as in March and nearly five times the area reported a year earlier. Some parts are in an extreme drought situation, which did not exist at the same time in 2022. The northeast and southern regions were particularly badly hit, and the dry weather conditions were expected to continue. With temperatures above normal for this time of the year, the agency said April 2023 was the third-driest and fourth-warmest in the last 92 years in mainland Portugal. Neighbouring Spain has registered the driest start to a year since records started, its weather agency AEMET said on Wednesday, with less than half the average rainfall during the first four months of 2023.

☆ Dozens of fruit growers arrested in Spain over illegal wells as drought grips the country
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( Al Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —Spanish police have arrested 26 people in recent months for an alleged scheme to use water from illegal wells to grow subtropical fruit, as the country grapples with damaging heat and drought. Spanish police officers document illegal water pipes in Malaga province, Spain in this screen grab from an undated handout video. Authorities’ investigation into the alleged illegal wells scheme began with a complaint to the Civil Guard’s environmental investigative unit four years ago. Later various growers told authorities they also detected illegal use of water, Spanish police said. The 26 people arrested have been arraigned before the magistrate there in recent months and released, with charges pending, the Malaga Civil Guard press office told CNN.

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