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If you thought it was hot before, you haven’t seen anything yet, as Spain enters the so-called ‘dog days’ of summer this Tuesday July 15, traditionally the hottest, most stifling time of the year.

 

The dog days fall between July 15 and August 15 and both day and night-time temperatures tend to be excruciatingly high. Which is certainly a worry, since this year's heat has already proven deadly. Between May 16 and July 13, a total of 1,180 people have died in Spain due to extreme heat. That is ten times more than during the same period last year.

 

Experts from Meteored describe the dog days as a phenomenon tied to both the atmosphere and the stars. Meteorologist Nacho Espinós explains that this period takes place in the northern hemisphere when the sun continues to beat down with full force.

 

“At that time, the sun is still shining very strongly, and the ground, already overheated after many weeks of accumulated heat, intensifies the thermal effect on the atmosphere,” he explains.

 

The weather pattern that sets this furnace-like stage includes clear skies, calm winds and a persistent blanket of warm air higher up in the atmosphere. These conditions work together to trap the heat and prevent it from dissipating, especially at night.

 

Mr Espinós points out that although the phrase ‘dog days’ has its roots in astronomy, where it was once linked to the star Sirius (also known as the Dog Star) and the heat it was thought to bring, today it is simply used to mark the stretch of the summer with the highest average temperatures.

 

He adds that “thermal temperatures tend to remain consistently high,” which often means daytime highs above 35ºC in many inland areas and more of those dreaded tropical nights, where the lows fail to drop below 20ºC.

 

In the last few weeks, many regions have experienced little difference between daytime and night-time temperatures, leading to a relentless heat that wears down the body and leaves little time for recovery.

 

With climate change accelerating, meteorologists are warning that the situation is becoming even more concerning, “not only because temperatures are becoming more extreme, but above all because of the increase in the frequency and duration of heat waves, as we have been observing for years.”

 

 

Image: Archive