Spain's east and Canary Islands hit by heat, storms and fire risk

Severe thunderstorms swept eastern Spain on August 1, prompting orange and yellow alerts from AEMET for Catalonia, the Valencian Community and Aragon. Hail and strong winds caused road closures, rail disruptions on several Rodalies lines and 399 emergency calls, with hundreds of incidents reported.

In the Canary Islands, a heat alert was issued for Gran Canaria and La Palma as temperatures were forecast to reach 40 °C, while a record 42.6 °C was measured in La Aldea de San Nicolás. The regional government warned residents to stay hydrated and avoid outdoor exposure. Simultaneously, the islands faced fire‑risk alerts; five islands were placed under forest‑fire warnings, and Tenerife’s Cabildo reduced fire‑prevention restrictions in the north (Anaga) but kept grade‑2 measures in the south‑west.

Alisio winds were expected to strengthen, helping to dissipate the lingering heat wave, though temperatures above 30 °C persisted across the archipelago. AEMET maintained yellow wind and coastal‑phenomena alerts for several islands, and the Canary Islands Government kept fire‑risk and heat alerts active while monitoring the situation.