The unexpected episode of heat, which reaches its peak this Friday and affects numerous provinces throughout Spain, has forced the different administrations to advance their plans against high temperatures.
The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) foresees a new rise that will take the thermometer to exceed 35 degrees in the Guadalquivir valley, areas of La Mancha and the eastern interior of Andalusia, and the anticyclone will not let up, beyond weak rainfall in Galicia, the Cantabrian area and some mountain ranges.
Extreme heat for the month of April that has led some groups, such as teachers, to demand measures, because the classrooms are not adapted to the challenges posed by the climate emergency.
CSIF has addressed the Ministry of Education to recall the unfulfilled commitment to a protocol and has also asked territories such as Madrid, Andalusia, Castilla-La Mancha, Extremadura, Aragon or La Rioja to adapt the schedules to slots with milder temperatures, improvements in the air conditioning or enabling shaded spaces in the recesses.
Thus, to the usual advice, such as not leaving the house or exercising outside during the central hours of the day, seeking shade, staying hydrated, protecting yourself with hats, sunglasses and sunscreen or avoiding copious meals, are added specific decisions of public administrations.
In reality, there are few territories that have gotten down to work to deal with the ravages of climate change, but they will be activated yes or yes on May 15, since Health has advanced the entry into force of the plan by two weeks against the heat, which will last beyond September 30, depending on the evolution of temperatures. But some communities have gone ahead.
The measures that the Seville City Council has implemented since last Friday at the Fair stand out, where it has reinforced the sanitary services, has included a water distribution point and has added a second trough for the horses.
Neither in Granada nor in Córdoba, which is now beginning its Festival of the Crosses, have special measures been adopted, while in Marbella the City Council has advanced the information device addressed to the 170 elderly in the home help service, who will be provided with tips to combat the wave, such as not going out in the hottest hours, wearing hats and fans, drinking liquids or ventilating the house.
In parallel, the Board plans to bring forward the activation of the plan due to high temperatures to early May, which adapts working hours abroad to avoid the hottest periods, launching the care program for the elderly and the chronically ill at through the telecare service and information campaigns.
The Ministry of Health has advanced to May 15 the entry into force of the plan with preventive actions against heat and has called for prudence to avoid adverse effects during the hottest months, especially in the most vulnerable population groups such as the elderly, chronically ill, children and pregnant women, as well as people who do outdoor work.
The capital opens the first 17 swimming pools on May 13 and brings forward today, Friday, the opening of the Madrid Río beach in the Arganzuela district, while volunteers will collaborate with Samur Social in distributing water to citizens through the streets of the city.
The Community has also approved a plan for Episodes of High Temperatures that allows, among other actions, to adapt the school hours of educational centers and the specific surveillance of the correct air conditioning in social or health care facilities.
No concrete measures have been promoted in this autonomy, but the regional president wants to enable efficient air conditioning in schools and institutes in the areas that are suffering the most from the effects of climate change.
The Albacete City Council is studying to bring forward the opening of swimming pools, scheduled for the end of June, and to air-condition nursery schools, within its competence.
As of this Thursday, the preventive measures typical of summer are activated, which normally come into force in mid-June. Health providers will receive from today the instructions for the detection and control of vulnerable patients, especially the elderly and people with pathologies.
The Valencia City Council has delayed the closing time of the parks, but beyond that no exceptional measure has been established and the program against heat will begin on May 15.
The Generalitat's Emergency Coordination Center has prepared a series of preventive measures against the risk of fire. The most prominent are preventive surveillance flights in the most sensitive areas, areas with a high and extreme level of risk.
On the other hand, there are many autonomous communities that have not applied concrete measures, some such as Euskadi and Asturias or Cantabria because the temperatures have not been anomalous in their territories.
In others, such as Extremadura, where they have had high temperatures, the regional government maintains that the circumstances do not exist because neither 112 nor Aemet have activated any alert, which is the premise, nor have La Rioja or Aragón promoted specific measures .
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