Shadow and water. It is what will be sought the most during the next few days in Galicia, which on this occasion does not get rid of thesecond heat wave of summer after tiptoeing through the first one. In the Galician community, together with Castilla y León, the Canary Islands, Andalusia and Extremadura, an alert was activated yesterday for temperatures that exceeded 40 degrees. Either in front of the sandbanks, where the breeze blows the most, or in the grove of river beaches, it will be where it is best to survive at extreme heat that will raise the mercury above 28 degrees in practically the entire Galician geography and that in some municipalities it will reach 41º, according to MeteoGalicia forecasts. Towns like A Coruña will bear the temperatures higher than so far this year.
Given this rise in mercury, the get together I decreed ayer la alert in 138 councils. On 48 —all in the province of Pontevedra— the maximum heat level was activated. In other 90, the alert is level 1, among them that highlight 38 municipalities in the northwest of A Coruña (Abegondo, Ares, Arteixo, Bergondo, Betanzos, Cabana de Bergantiños, Cambre, Carballo, Cariño, Carral, Cedeira, Cerceda, Cerdido , Coristanco, A Coruña, Culleredo, Fene, Ferrol, laxA Laracha, Malpica, Mañón, Miño, Moeche, Mugardos, Narón, Neda, Oleiros, Stinging nettle, Oza-Cesuras, Paderne, Ponteceso, Pontedeume, Sada, San Sadurniño, Valdoviño and Vilarmaior). At this same level are another 33 municipalities in the interior of A Coruña, five in the Valdeorras region and 13 in the Miño area in Pontevedra.
In the Galician cities, the mercury yesterday moved between 26 degrees in A Coruña and 35 in Ourense, with minimums that seemed more like a spring day, with a night where temperatures ranged between 14º in Lugo and 21 from Vigo. In the city of A Coruña, the night values reached 17 degrees.
The thermometer will be red hot today. It will be a weekend in which half of Galicia will be in alert for temperatures above 34 degrees and that in some areas they will exceed 40 degrees. According to MeteoGalicia’s medium-term weather forecast, the predominance of high pressures will continue at least until Friday of next week.
Skies today will be partly cloudy to clear all day throughout the community. The wind will blow from the east and northeast, strong in the surroundings of Cabo Ortegal. In the Rías Baixas, breezes are expected.
Galicia will remain tomorrow under the influence of the anticyclone but it will also face the entry of a mass of warm air from the south that will increase the sensation of heat. In the province of Ourense, the Miño area and the Valdeorras area will continue to be on yellow alert due to extreme temperatures (above 36 degrees). The maximum expected in the cities are expected in Ourense (38 degrees), followed by Lugo and Santiago (33), Pontevedra (32) and Ferrol (31). In Vigo the thermometer will reach 29 degrees and in A Coruña, again 28º. As for the minimums, there are spring days that even during the day these values are not reached. In Vigo the night temperatures will be 21 degrees and in A Coruña 17 are expected.
It was not even four in the afternoon when yesterday in some Galician towns it had already reached 35 degrees and in others it was even exceeded. This is the case of Salceda de Caselas (Pontevedra), where at 3:30 p.m. it reached 36.3. While at that time the thermometer in O Porriño, Ponteares and Ourense marked 35.6º.
High temperatures increase the risk of fire
Heat is the great threat of Galician mountains since high temperatures favor the risk of forest fires. To prevent the flames from devouring the natural wealth of the forests and putting the population at risk, Civil Protection recommends paying attention to the regulations of each community; do not throw cigarettes, garbage and glass; do not light fires or bonfires in the mountains and nearby lands; camping only in authorized areas; do not enter the forest or mount if there is a fire; and follow the indications of the competent authorities in case of emergency.
Given the high temperatures, it is advisable to limit exposure to the sun; keep the place well ventilated; eat light and regular meals, rich in water and mineral salts; drink frequently fluids; wear light colors, covering the largest possible area of feet and head; avoid prolonged physical exercises in central hours of the day; take an interest in the elderly and sick; and take into account that high temperatures favor the risk of forest fires.
Pay attention to solar radiation data
From the Xunta, the Minister for the Environment, Ángeles Vázquez, invited the public to enjoy the beaches safely and responsibly, while recalling that MeteoGalicia has incorporated information on ultraviolet radiation, so that it is available to citizens.
