Weather alerts activated for temperatures of 39 degrees and risk of forest fires

Weather alerts have been activated across the Canary Islands as the heatwave is intensifying, particularly in the eastern province. Maximums up to 39 degrees are expected in Gran Canaria and up to 37 degrees in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, with all three islands on alert for the risk of forest fires, according to the General Directorate of Security and Emergencies of the Canary Islands Government.

The orange warning is activated from 10am this morning for high temperatures in the south, east, west and summits of Gran Canaria, and it will especially affect the Tejeda basin, where locally it will reach 39 degrees in the central hours of the day, according to the forecast of the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).

It will also be hot tonight as it will not drop below 26 or 28 degrees in these areas, mixed with relative humidity that will continue to plummet to around 30% in the inland areas.

In the rest of the islands, the warning is yellow for maximum temperatures of more than 34 degrees. In Lanzarote and Fuerteventura it will affect inland areas in the southern half of the islands, and in the western islands of Tenerife, La Palma, La Gomera and El Hierro, it will mainly affect inland to the south and west.

On Sunday the heat will increase once more, extending the orange warning to include Lanzarote and Fuerteventura due to temperatures of 37 degrees, as well as Gran Canaria with 39 degrees in various parts of the island.

In La Gomera, El Hierro, the east of LaPalma and the north of Tenerife a yellow warning will be activated for temperatures of 34 degrees on Sunday, which will rise to 36 in the summits and west of La Palma, and the summits, east, south and west of Tenerife.

Forest fire warnings are activated because of the wind that will be from the northeast with strong intervals on the southeast and northwest slopes of the mountainous islands; and on peaks of the western islands, it will blow from the east.

The three 30s are the conditions that lead to forest fire warnings:
Temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius.
Humidity below 30%
Winds in excess of 30 km/h.

This alert calls for prevention to avoid outbreaks in the face of the drought experienced by the islands and the extreme risk of fire declared in large areas of the interior of the islands of greater relief.