40°C: Record breaking April temperatures worsen Spain's drought crisis | DW News | DW News

Spain is experiencing record heat this April. The summer-high temperatures in Spring are exacerbating a long-running drought. The country's meteorological agency has attributed the unusually high temperatures to climate change.

We talk to Guy Hedgecoe, a journalist in the Spanish capital of Madrid, about the effects of the extreme heat.

#spain #heatwave #drought

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[arcabuz]

Tourists generally have a disregard for sensible use of water when they come to Spain. Long showers might be okay for a person living in Berlin or in Helsinki, but it is killing the water reservoirs in this unusual heat.

[elguapodelmonte]

The best policy in places like Spain is TO PLANT MORE TREES, as the shade created from the trees, keeps the
environment cooler, as the trees dissipate heat, while the shade holds the moisture for much longer, and the
actual leaves & branches of trees, catch any moisture in the atmosphere, such as "condensation" and that can
then accumulate, adding little droplets onto the ground, and with more and more droplets, they start to irrigate
the ground, which then adds more water to the underground AQUIFER'S, as well as the droplets watering the
actual trees, GIVING THE TREES LIFE, and the trees sprouting more leaves, more branches, and more trees,
then as the trees get bigger & bigger, undergrowth starts to sprout, with bushes and shrubs, which then starts
to attract more & more condensation, giving the environment a greener, cooler, exuberant, lush outlook. If you
were to study "hot/dry countries" like in the MENA, they did the opposite, they cut, cut, cut down the trees. Now
they live and breath DESERTIFICATION. In the Western Countries like Spain, we have to plant, plant, plant TREES.

[lingth]

Tourist are loving it because they are only here for a few days or a week then they will be out of here, but for the locals they have to go through their daily activities in this heat.. summer is coming, it will be even hotter soon.

[Randy]

Exactly as predicted: more extreme weather.

[lfsracer]

0:48 I'll take 10 degrees over 40 degrees any day.

[danielcaceres]

The problem is not now, the problem is what the summer will be like

[Anthony-snco]

I am in saidia, a northern moroccan city on the Mediterranean sea. And I can tell you that the heat we are experiencing in this period of the year is extremely unusual. Climate change is causing a lot of problems to our natural environment. Our region relies primarily on agriculture, and now drought has damaged our food production and supply.

[bruceleong]

If only Australians cared as much about fish as the Spanish do. Last month, millions of native fish suffocated in one of our major rivers due to water mismanagement and consequent blue algae infestation robbing the water of all oxygen. This is not the first time it’s happened and sadly it won’t be the last, due to greed and neglect.

[Traveler-rfye]

My inlaws live in Seville. I once visited in August and I was living off of water and pain killers due to the headaches. And I come from a hot town myself, but that was next level.

[pascalbercker]

I'm in Southern France, outside Bordeaux. Last summer was perfectly horrible and prompted me to buy an air conditioner in anticipation of this summer. I fear a repeat of last year - or maybe worse. We've hardly had any rain this winter and we may be headed for another hot and dry summer, and we're simply not prepared for all this. The irony is that I'm reading a book by Alex Epstein, some sort of "climate skeptic" on why we should use even MORE fossil fuels. I'm having some sort of cognitive dissonance from it all.

[witch-doctor]

It will only get worse if they don't repair all the deforested areas

[Neilhuny]

a) it is pleasing to see English people in Spain, not drunk, not fighting, not swearing, not passed out in the street
b) there is no 'b'

[mr.marius]

I moved out of Span to Romania. Best decision of my life. The weather here is so fresh. Today is raining and in the weekend is sunny for a mountain hike😍
Spain is going to be crazy in 10-20 years

[danielcaldwell]

Just look at the comments of the people in denial and their solutions and it's really no wonder why we are where we're at.

[fincaecologica]

Problem is there hasn't been rain in months. After two years of just very few rain, it is devastating. Watch the water. Where is it?

[danoninonino]

0'22": 36º in Madrid? That's false. We haven't reached 36º in Madrid yet. That's a mistake. The top temperature in april in Madrid was about 30º - 31º. Greetings from Madrid.

[SpmMe]

Even as a tourist that'd be too much for me. After all, I want to walk around, enjoy the sights, and so on. Lovely and warm, yes please, boiling eggs on the pavement, god no.
... depressingly, the water temperature will be too low to enjoy swimming in the sea as well at this time of the year.

[kerberach]

after a snow-filled and record-cold winter here in Norway, I have actually booked a trip to Spain on 23 May. Thanks for the tip

[richardallan]

Aren't we all glad we had a few extra decades of excess consumption rather than sort this in time? totally worth it.

[thebloody]

WHY don't you make a video on how COLD AND RAINY it is in ITALY AND FRANCE right now ??!