By Alyssa McMurtry
OVIEDO, Spain (AA) – Spain is heating up faster than the global average, according to a study released on Friday, which found that 2020 was the country’s hottest year on record.
Last year, the average temperature in Spain rose 1.7 degrees Celsius higher than the country’s pre-industrial average, according to the findings of Spain’s meteorological agency AEMET.
Only 2017 saw similarly scorching temperatures in Spain, but last year's heat was even more exceptional because it occurred at the same time as the La Niña phenomenon, which tends to have a cooling effect.
Globally, the average temperature in 2020 was 1.2 degrees higher than pre-industrial levels. It was also the hottest year ever recorded across Europe.
This record-breaking year manifested in Spain in three heat waves – one of which was the third-longest on record – as well as the heaviest downpour ever seen on Spain’s Mediterranean coast.
According to Spain’s public health institute, heatwaves kill an average of 1,800 people per year in Spain alone.
That figure, along with droughts, desertification, rising sea levels, biodiversity loss and extreme weather events could become gravely intensified if greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced.
If carbon emissions continue to rise at the current level, Spain’s average temperature could be 5 degrees hotter by the end of the century, according to the report. If emissions are cut, Spain could expect to be 2 degrees warmer by the year 2100.
Last year, the seas surrounding Spain were also the second warmest on record, with a particularly steep increase along Spain’s northern Mediterranean coast.
According to the report, 7 of the 10 hottest years on record in Spain have taken place since 2011.
Whether or not 2021 will be another record-breaking year remains to be seen. But on Friday AEMET also released this year’s first excessive heat warning for the province of Alicante, where temperatures could climb to 36 degrees on Sunday.