Wednesday, May 13, 2015

It’s too hot for some

AEMET have issued a warning for maximum temperatures of up to 38 degrees for tomorrow. The reason that we are getting such high temperatures is a wave of hot air coming from the Sahara desert. The good news is that temperatures will drop then on Friday back to about 25 degrees. As we have experienced in the past, spring seems to have been skipped as we moved from winter to summer almost overnight.

Whilst these high temperatures might be uncomfortable for us, they are a real cause of concern for farmers.

We had very little rain in autumn and winter, another year of drought. Water reserves in the soil are low and this affects those crops that rely solely on natural irrigation like the almonds and the olives. Although the almond trees blossomed well and set fruit, this heat could well have an effect on the quality of the produce. Olives are in flower now and this heat could adversely affect both the quantity and quality of the fruit.

Also affected will be cereals, citrus, vegetables along with the wine and table grapes.

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