The world’s first named heat wave, Zoe, hit Seville, Spain, pushing temperatures past 110 degrees Fahrenheit and earning the title of the most severe tier in the city’s new heat wave ranking system. Heatwave’ Zoe’ has brought scorching temperatures to the southern part of the country, particularly the region of Andalusia where Seville is located. Even in the evenings, the Spanish meteorological service recorded temperatures in the mid-80s in some areas — putting extra stress on the human body, which relies on cooler nights to recover from the extreme daytime heat.
Zoe is the first named heat wave to hit Seville since it officially launched a new pilot program last month for ranking and naming heat waves, similar to hurricanes. However, only the most severe heat waves got names designated to them this year in reverse alphabetical order. After Zoe comes Yago, Xenia, Wenceslao, and Vega.
According to proMETEO Sevilla, Seville’s new heat wave ranking system, the heatwave has posed a significant risk to human health. The program is a collaboration between the Atlantic Council’s Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center (Arsht-Rock) and the city of Seville, along with other partners, including the Spanish Office for Climate Change and several Spanish universities and research institutes.
