The Aemet, Spain's State Meteorological Agency, has revised upwards the heat alerts for this Sunday, issuing a red alert for the interior of Gipuzkoa and Bizkaia. Maximum temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius are predicted for these areas. "The danger is extraordinary," states the Aemet's definition of a red alert.
This red alert from Aemet will be active between 1:00 PM and 9:00 PM this Sunday in those zones, with maximums of 40 degrees Celsius, while on the coast the alert will be orange during the same time frame with maximums that could reach 37 degrees Celsius. Therefore, the advice is clear: limit exposure to the temperatures during those hours and stay well-hydrated to avoid any health risks.
In fact, these red warnings from Aemet in the Basque Country are currently the most extreme on the entire peninsula – due to the exceptional nature of the high temperatures – on the first day of the heatwave. Euskalmet, for its part, maintains a general orange alert for the entire Basque Country.
The heat will not give residents of Gipuzkoa any respite this week. Although thermometers have been above spring values for days, the start of summer – tomorrow at 10:24 AM – will further boost temperatures, which are expected to exceed 42ºC in the interior of the territory for several consecutive days, turning Gipuzkoa into an oven. Today, a yellow warning for temperatures and storms has been activated, and tomorrow, an orange alert for extreme temperatures in the interior.
The heat episode experienced in Gipuzkoa in May already anticipated that the summer would start intensely. However, this new heatwave, which will last at least until Thursday, will also bring significant instability to the territory. Beyond extreme temperatures, exceeding 42ºC in much of the interior, this weather event will be marked by meteorological fluctuations, precipitation, and storms. This is according to Miguel Ángel Manjón, head of climatology at the State Meteorological Agency in Euskadi, who points out that a "warm air mass of Saharan origin" will cause the thermometers to soar.
Manjón adds that this "chaos and instability" originates from a "warm air mass of Saharan origin" that has entered the Peninsula and will be noticeable until Monday, with temperatures reaching 42º for consecutive days in towns like Tolosa or Beasain.
The coast will not be spared either, with more moderate but still anomalous and hot temperatures, close to 36ºC. "There is a blocking situation, so the atmospheric systems do not move, causing the same situation to repeat day after day: heat begins to build, storms form, they discharge, the temperature drops slightly... But since the situation is the same, the next day it's the same cycle."
Yesterday marked a small respite before the new episode. The wind blew a little stronger in coastal towns, making the atmosphere slightly more pleasant, and temperatures dropped slightly. But only for a short time, as a new temperature increase is expected today. Maximums will not reach 30º on the coast, but will exceed 35 degrees in a large part of inland Gipuzkoa. However, again, the day could end with precipitation, so a yellow warning for intense rainfall has been activated throughout the territory from mid-afternoon.
This will be the general trend for the week, with tomorrow marking the start of the real heat and having triggered the orange alert for extreme high temperatures across Gipuzkoa.
Osakidetza is not cancelling its OPE. In fact, in relation to the extreme heat predicted for tomorrow, Osakidetza has been forced to deny a rumor that circulated yesterday on social media, warning of the supposed cancellation of the Public Employment Offer (OPE) exams due to the heatwave. The Department of Health has confirmed that tomorrow's tests will proceed as scheduled and guarantees that the BEC pavilions will have air conditioning and water devices to withstand the temperatures.
The Basque Government, for its part, recommends avoiding going out or exercising during the central hours of the day and drinking water frequently to stay hydrated. This is the first heatwave of the summer and the second of the year – after the one recorded in May – a phenomenon that occurs when for at least three consecutive days, 10% of stations exceed the usual maximum temperature values in the hottest summers recorded between 1971 and 2000, according to Aemet. However, this heat episode could subside on Wednesday, when the "blocking situation" breaks with the entry of "a surface low-pressure system from the coast of Portugal and Galicia," specifies Manjón.
