There were a total of four heatwaves throughout the summer, and they "lasted an extremely long time"—which is precisely what made them exceptional. In fact, the heatwaves in July and August, lasting 23 and 24 days respectively, were the longest since 1975, surpassed only by the heatwave in July 2015.
Other milestones recorded over the summer included temperatures more typical of July in late May across large parts of Aragon, as well as the 41 degrees recorded in Hijar on September 4. "What we are seeing is that the duration of heatwaves is truly extraordinary, and that summers are also getting longer and longer; this is not something new. Last year, summer began in May, and these are signs that summers are expanding at both ends," the regional delegate explained.
This is evidenced by the fact that above-normal temperatures will be recorded during the week when autumn begins, with temperatures reaching as high as 36 degrees in the Ebro Valley. "It is going to be a warmer-than-usual autumn, as has become customary. In addition, there is a greater likelihood that it will be wetter, so rainfall may occur," the regional delegate explained.
"A SUMMER DEFINED BY PERSISTENT EXTREME HEAT"
Regarding the meteorological summer, from June 1 to August 31, there were 16 days with temperatures of 40 degrees or higher in Zaragoza, five in Huesca and two in Teruel. "The truth is that these isolated peak values were not exceeded, unlike in the summer of 2015, when Zaragoza reached 44.5 degrees. Rather, what happened is that it was a record-breaking summer in terms of consecutive days, the number of days with minimum temperatures above 20 degrees, days reaching 40 degrees and the number of days under heatwave conditions... All of that," the delegate explained.
In addition, regarding the days on which Zaragoza reached or exceeded 40 degrees, Blasco wanted to clarify that reaching that temperature in the capital "is not as common as it may seem." "Everyone thinks before coming here that it is very easy to reach those maximum temperatures, but the reality is that it is not. At the Airport Observatory, where records have been kept since 1951, we can see that there were summers when that figure was not reached, and others when it was reached for one or two days at most... In 76 years, 89 days above 40 degrees have been recorded, and more than half occurred in the last five years. It is something to reflect on," Blasco concluded.
