Seville is hot in the afternoon as temperatures rise to nearly 40C.
It is not normal to have this kind of heat in the summer.
The Feria de Abril festival, which is held in the city each year and involves people dressing up in elegant suits and traditional flamenco costumes to celebrate their culture, has been extremely hot.
As he waited in the shade for his friends, we spoke with primary school teacher Bernard Bossous.
It’s hot. “I just stay inside and come out at a later time, maybe 8 or 9,” he said.
Does he have concerns about the impact of on climate change driving more extreme heat events?
It’s definitely changed compared to 10 years ago. “It is worrying.”
Seville, the beautiful city in the Iberian peninsula, is often referred to by the term “Iberian Oven” due to the hot air blowing in from North Africa. Heat is not a stranger.
It was the first to recognize heatwaves in the same way that the US does hurricanes.
Shade cloths are rigged over important shopping streets. There are also extensive parks and gardens that provide shade. Plans have even been made to construct an underwater canal system designed to cool the people above.
Climate change is a major concern for the mayor, who wants to ensure that his city and its residents remain livable.
There are fears that this part of Spain, no matter how many adaptation measures are taken, could become too hot in the summer months for tourists, which could have a major impact on the local economy.
We bumped into friends from the UK in the Plaza de Espana, the heart of the city.
Diana Boyce, Jacquie Brown, Gillian Hibbert and Chris Day who live all near Manchester are here to participate in an amateur tournament.
Jacqui said, “It was really too hot to play in the heat.”
Gillian said, “They’ve been unable to keep the green fairways as there isn’t enough water. They are completely brown. I wouldn’t have expected that in spring.”
Would Sue return here in summer, when it could be even hotter than now? She replied, “I’m afraid I wouldn’t, it’s just too hot.”
Chris said: “You may take all the precautions you want to with regards to water, skin protection, and so on, but at the end of it, you will have no choice but go inside.”
This extreme heat episode has come after a dry, hot winter in Europe and an extremely hot summer of 2022.
Spain is suffering now from low levels of aquifers and reservoirs. Some Catalonia reservoirs are only 10% full.
Already, water restrictions are in place throughout the country, especially for agricultural and industrial uses.
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Jose Galan of the Field Guide Association of the Donana National Park walked me along some dunes that were covered with gorse.
We could hear the popping of seeds as native plants burst all around us.
He said, “They shouldn’t do that now. These are the conditions in June.”
He described nature’s ability to adapt.
“But I’m more concerned about society,” he said.
“Climate change has a major impact on water because of the heat and drought.”
We don’t use enough and we don’t have any. “We need to rethink how we relate to water.”
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