Sharjah 24 – AFP: Drought-hit Spain was bracing Monday for an unusually early heat wave, prompting fears for wildfires in a nation already so dry that some farmers have opted not to plant crops.
Temperatures are expected to be 15-20 degrees Celsius higher than the average in some areas, a spokesman for Spain's state weather agency AEMET tweeted.
Spain's civil protection agency warned there was a "high risk" of wildfires due the scorching weather.
The nation led Europe in land burned last year during a record hot 2022 that the government and independent experts said was the product of climate change.
A prolonged drought has caused the wildfire season to start earlier than usual, with March recording the first major fires of the year.
Blazes have ravaged some 54,000 hectares (133,400 acres) of land so far this year in Spain, compared with just over 17,000 hectares during the same time in 2022, according to the European Forest Fire Information System.
The lack of precipitation has been especially severe in the northeastern region of Catalonia where water reservoirs are at just one-quarter of their capacity.
This has led to water use restrictions, with residents of Barcelona and its surrounding area banned from filling swimming pool.
The weather office said temperatures are expected to drop on Sunday and Monday, "ending this episode of exceptionally high temperatures for the time of year".
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