Extreme heatwave persists across Jordan through Wednesday
According to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD), Sunday's weather will remain hot over the high mountainous areas and extremely hot elsewhere.
Medium to high-altitude clouds are expected to appear throughout the day, with a chance of brief, scattered showers in the southern and eastern parts of the Kingdom, possibly accompanied by thunder. Winds will be moderate from the northeast to northwest, occasionally picking up speed and stirring dust, particularly in desert regions, JMD said.
The heatwave is expected to continue through Wednesday, with similar conditions prevailing, hot over high terrain and extremely hot in other areas. Light, localised showers may fall briefly in isolated parts of the south and east.
Temperatures forecast: in East Amman: 41°C / 26°C, west Amman: 39°C / 24°C, northern highlands: 37°C / 26°C, Sharah Highlands: 38°C / 24°C, desert regions: 43°C / 28°C, plains: 40°C / 25°C, northern Jordan Valley: 42°C / 28°C, southern Jordan Valley: 42°C / 32°C, Dead Sea: 42°C / 31°C and Aqaba: 43°C / 31°C.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Jordan Times
6 hours ago
- Jordan Times
Thousands battle Greece fires as heatwave bakes Europe
PATRAS, Greece — Greece on Wednesday battled to contain more than 20 wildfires including one menacing its third-largest city Patras as a heatwave stoked blazes and forced the evacuation of thousands in southern Europe. Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, the Balkans and Britain have this week wilted in high temperatures that fuel wildfires and which scientists say human-induced climate change is intensifying. Since dawn on Wednesday, 4,850 firefighters and 33 planes were mobilised across Greece on what promised to be "a very difficult day", fire service spokesman Vassilis Vathrakogiannis said. A fire near the ancient Mycenaean archaeological site of Voudeni, just seven kilometres (four miles) from Patras, threatened forested zones and homes, and the area was covered by a thick cloud of smoke, an AFP journalist reported. Fierce wind "is hampering the task of water bombers, and is making collecting water at sea more difficult", the president of the firefighter officers' union, Kostas Tsigkas, told public broadcaster ERT. In the western Achaia region in the Peloponnese, to which the coastal city of Patras belongs, around 20 villages were evacuated on Tuesday. Other fronts were burning on the popular tourist island of Zante and the Aegean island of Chios, scarred by a huge wildfire in June that ravaged more than 4,000 hectares. The Greek coastguard said it had helped evacuate nearly 80 people from Chios and near Patras. The national ambulance service reported 52 hospitalisations from Achaia, Chios and the western town of Preveza, including "a small number of firefighters", mostly for respiratory problems and minor burns. Temperatures are due to come close to 40C in parts of western Greece on Wednesday, including the northwest Peloponnese, national weather service EMY forecast. After Greece requested four water bombers from the EU Civil Protection Mechanism to bolster its resources, leftist opposition party Syriza criticised the conservative government's preparation for the fires that hit every year. Greece needed "a bold redistribution of resources in favour of civil protection", an "emphasis on prevention", better coordination and new technologies in its civil protection system, Syriza said. 'Worst breeding ground' At the other end of the Mediterranean, wildfires continued to dominate the news in Spain, where cooler temperatures and greater humidity were expected to help control blazes in which two people have died. Authorities in the northwestern region of Castile and Leon, where flames have threatened a world heritage Roman mining site, said almost 6,000 people from 26 localities had been evacuated from their homes. Bushy undergrowth and searing temperatures that have baked Spain for almost two weeks had created "the worst possible breeding ground for this situation", Castile and Leon's civil protection head Irene Cortes said. A total of 199 wildfires have scorched nearly 98,784 hectares across Spain this year, more than double the area burned during the same period in 2024. Neighbouring Portugal deployed more than 1,800 firefighters and around 20 aircraft against five major blazes, with efforts focused on a blaze in the central municipality of Trancoso that has raged since Saturday. Strong gusts of wind had rekindled flames overnight and threatened nearby villages, where television images showed locals volunteering to help the firefighters under a thick cloud of smoke. "It's scary... but we are always ready to help each other," a mask-wearing farmer told Sic Noticias television, holding a spade in his hand. Italian firefighters had extinguished a blaze that burned for five days on the famed Mount Vesuvius and spewed plumes of smoke over the Naples area. In Britain, temperatures were expected to peak at 34C in the country's fourth heatwave of the summer. The UK Health Security Agency warned of "significant impacts" on health and social care services for the parts of central and southeastern England where the harshest heat was forecast.
Jordan Times
6 hours ago
- Jordan Times
Heatwave continues, relief expected by weekend
AMMAN — The Kingdom remains under the grip of a heatwave, with dusty and extremely hot conditions expected to continue through Wednesday, according to the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD). Daytime temperatures are expected to soar across the country, accompanied by clouds at various altitudes, with scattered showers, potentially accompanied by thunder, are expected in the southern regions. At night, temperatures will remain relatively high, with medium to high clouds present and light north to northwesterly winds. By Friday, the heatwave is expected to ease, with further drops in temperature, according to JMD. Weather conditions will be relatively hot in highlands and hot elsewhere. Northwesterly winds will remain moderate, occasionally active. Night temperatures will cool in most areas, though the Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, and Aqaba will stay relatively warm. On Saturday, temperatures will continue to decline, nearing seasonal averages. The weather will be relatively hot across most regions and hot in the Jordan Valley, Dead Sea, and Aqaba. Northwesterly winds may stir dust in desert areas. Nighttime conditions will be generally mild. The Zarqa meteorological station, operated by JMD, recorded its highest-ever maximum temperature on Tuesday since climate records began over a century ago, reaching 44.8°C. This new high surpasses the previous record of 44.6°C, set on August 20, 2010, and again on August 13, 2023, according to JMD. JMD confirmed that Zarqa has officially joined the list of stations breaking historic temperature records, becoming the first to register a new record this year amid the continuing heatwave affecting the Kingdom. Meanwhile, Energy and Minerals Regulatory Commission (EMRC) said that the national electricity grid recorded its 'highest-ever' power demand on Tuesday evening. The commission said that the system logged a peak load of 4,765 megawatts at 7:38pm on Tuesday, marking the highest in the country's history and reflecting the intense strain placed on the grid during the ongoing heatwave. Despite the record-breaking demand, the commission confirmed on Wednesday that the electrical system remained stable and operated efficiently. While some limited and individual power outages were reported, the commission described them as typical for advanced power networks under extreme weather conditions. 'These incidents were handled swiftly, showcasing the grid's ability to respond effectively under pressure.'
Jordan Times
a day ago
- Jordan Times
Two killed in European wildfires as heatwave intensifies
MADRID — Two men died and thousands were forced from their homes on Tuesday as wildfires fuelled by a heatwave scorched southern Europe. Heat alerts were issued in Italy, France, Spain, Portugal and the Balkans, with temperatures expected to soar above 40C. The heatwave is another sign of climate change, which is fuelling longer, more intense and increasingly frequent bouts of extreme heat. "Thanks to climate change, we now live in a significantly warmer world," Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the meteorology department in Britain's University of Reading told AFP, adding that "many still underestimate the danger". An employee of a Spanish equestrian centre who suffered serious burns died in hospital as winds of up to 70 kilometres per hour whipped flames through Tres Cantos, a wealthy suburb north of Madrid, officials said. In Montenegro, a soldier died and another was seriously injured when their water tanker overturned while fighting wildfires in the hills north of the capital, Podgorica. A child died of heatstroke in Italy on Monday. The equestrian centre employee was the first fatality from dozens of wildfires that have hit Spain since a heatwave began last week. Spanish media said he had become trapped by the flames as he tried to save horses. Hundreds of residents of Tres Cantos fled their homes due to the risk from the fast-moving blaze, which was contained on Tuesday morning. The fire damaged several homes and "above all" agricultural facilities, Carlos Novillo, Madrid's regional environment chief, told reporters. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said on X that rescue services "are working tirelessly to extinguish the fires" and warned: "We are at extreme risk of forest fires. Please be very cautious." Saved at 'last second' Elsewhere, about 2,000 people were evacuated from hotels and homes near the popular beaches of Tarifa in the southern region of Andalusia. The wildfire broke out near where a similar blaze forced evacuations earlier this month. "We managed to save the residential area at the very last second," said Antonio Sanz, the Andalusia region's interior minister. In the northwestern region of Castile and Leon, dozens of blazes were reported, including one threatening Las Medulas, a UNESCO World Heritage site known for its ancient Roman gold mines. The head of the regional government of Castile and Leon, Alfonso Fernandez Manueco, vowed "to act quickly and generously" once the fire is over to restore the site "to its full glory as soon as possible". In neighbouring Portugal, firefighters battled three large wildfires, with the most serious near Trancoso in the centre of the country. More than 700 firefighters were deployed there. Church bells rang out on Tuesday morning in Mendo Gordo, a hamlet near Trancoso, to sound the alarm as a thick column of smoke rose in the distance, images broadcast on Portuguese television showed. Smoke and greenhouse gas emissions related to forest fires since the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere are among the highest ever recorded, according to the EU climate monitor Copernicus. 'Too hot' Temperature records were broken at four weather stations in southern France on Monday and three-quarters of the country was under heat alerts on Tuesday, with temperatures forecast to top 40C in the Rhone Valley. The Rhone department banned outdoor public events. Temperatures started rising on Friday in France's second heatwave in just a few weeks and could remain high into next week, according to the national weather office Meteo-France. That would make it a 12- to 14-day stretch of extreme heat. "It's already too hot," said Alain Bichot, 34, as he sat at a cafe terrace early on Tuesday morning in Dijon in eastern France. "I would rather just go to the office. At least there is air conditioning there." Eleven Italian cities, including Rome, Milan and Florence, were placed on red alert on Tuesday due to the heat. In Montenegro, fire crews aided by military personnel were fighting a blaze around Podgorica for a second day when the water truck flipped, killing the soldier, the defence ministry said in a statement. Authorities warned residents to stay indoors due to smoke from a forest fire raging in the hills above Podgorica. Hundreds of soldiers and firefighters were also battling wildfires in Albania. More than half of Europe and the Mediterranean basin were hit by drought in July for the fourth consecutive month, according to an AFP analysis of European Drought Observatory [EDO] data. Drought levels in the region are the highest on record for the month of July since data collection began in 2012, exceeding the 2012-2024 average by 21 per cent.
