The elevated temperatures recorded in Vitoria-Gasteiz recently, along with meteorological forecasts for the upcoming days, may lead to occasional disruptions in the city's urban bus service. According to the municipal company TUVISA, during extreme heat, some vehicles in the fleet might experience failures in their air conditioning systems.
When this occurs, and if it's not possible to replace the affected bus with another fully operational unit, the vehicle will be withdrawn from service without a substitute. In such cases, the company indicates that frequencies will need to be adjusted to ensure service continuity across the entire transport network.
So far, incidents recorded for this reason have been minimal. However, current temperatures and the activation of the red heat alert for Monday, June 22nd, have prompted this preventive notice and continuous monitoring of the buses' climate control equipment.
TUVISA has expressed gratitude for the public's understanding and reiterated that their absolute priority is to maintain safety, service regularity, and attention to all users, especially during exceptional weather events.
The Directorate of Emergency Attention and Meteorology of the Basque Government will activate the red alert in Álava and the rest of Euskadi on Monday, June 22nd, due to extreme high temperatures. This measure will be in effect from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM, escalating the severity from the previous orange alert issued for Sunday, June 21st.
On Monday, very high temperatures are expected, reaching up to 40 degrees Celsius. With the red alert activated—the highest level of alert—maximum temperatures could hover around 39 degrees in the inland areas of Álava and reach 40 degrees in southern Álava, as well as in inland Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa. Coastal forecasts point to 37 degrees.
The regions of Aiaraldea and Rioja Alavesa are expected to be the most affected areas by this June heatwave. Furthermore, minimum temperatures are not predicted to drop below 19 degrees Celsius in inland Álava and 22 degrees in the southern part of the territory, while on the coast they will be around 21 degrees and 20 degrees in inland Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa.
Given the severity of this climatic situation, the Basque Department of Security will declare the emergency phase, corresponding to situation 0 of LABI (Basque Civil Protection Plan), starting from 12:00 PM on Monday.
