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Spain launches its revamped heatwave early warning system
The advanced system monitors microclimate temperatures across Spain during the summer
The Ministry of Health in Spain has just activated its ‘National Plan for Preventative Actions for the Effects of Excess Temperatures on Health’, which is essentially an early-warning system for when the mercury really begins to soar. This will remain in place until September, but there are some big changes this year.
The main purpose of the Plan is to alert the local governments and residents in advance when the temperatures are set to get dangerously high. There are four risk levels: level 0 (green), no risk; level 1 (yellow), low risk; level 2 (orange), medium risk, and level 3 (red), high risk. Based on these, the authorities can advise citizens on the appropriate safety measures.
Usually, heat alerts are issued province by province but for the summer of 2024, the Meteoalert Zone system has been implemented, which will break municipalities up into even more specific areas. In effect, there are a total of 182 meteohealth zones, compared to just 52 provincial ones.
Take Galicia for example, which is divided into four provinces. One of these is Lugo, which contains several towns of its own. Up until now, one temperature threshold would be set for the entire province before a heatwave alert was activated. But now, different zones have been set different limits. The municipality of A Mariña will have to reach just 25.5ºC before a weather warning is issued, while the southern part of the province will need to hit 37.1ºC before an alert is raised.
These ceilings have been arrived at after careful study by the Climate Change Health and Urban Environment Research Group of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII), which established the threshold temperatures of impact on mortality due to heat waves in the various meteohealth zones.
Extreme heat warnings at the Meteoalert zone level will be available starting June 3, and the Ministry has indicated that the entire Plan can be extended until October 15, if the heatwaves persist like they did last year.
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