Madrid (EFE).- The Government approved in May a package of measures for drought and heat in Spain, among which are the new obligations for companies whose workers work in hours of extreme heat, but what is considered extreme heat?
Red level and orange level
As the spokesman for Aemet (State Meteorological Agency), Rubén del Campo, pointed out to EFE, the red warning is issued from 40-44 degrees, while the orange, between 37-40 degrees.
The established levels are usually “more restrictive in the southern half of the peninsula, and milder in mountainous areas and in the extreme north.”
By autonomous community, in Andalusia, one of the communities most affected by extreme heat, the red warning would be activated with maximum temperatures ranging from 44 degrees in the Cordoba and Seville countryside to 42 degrees in Sol and Guadalhorce (Málaga).
In the same community, for the orange level it has to be between 39 and 40 degrees, depending on the areas.
The Community of Madrid, for example, activates the red alert with maximum temperatures of 42 degrees in the metropolitan area, Henares, south, Las Vegas and the west, and 40 degrees in the Madrid mountains.
As for the orange alert, 39 degrees are needed in all areas, except in the Madrid mountains, which is 37 degrees.
If we talk about areas in the northern half, such as Galicia and Castilla y León, the threshold for the red warning ranges between 40 and 42 degrees, and for orange between 37 and 39 degrees.
However, in Castilla-La Mancha the red level is activated with maximums between 40-44 degrees and the orange with 37-40 degrees.
What does a red notice mean?
The Aemet spokesman explains that the red level is a very adverse and infrequent meteorological phenomenon. In it, vulnerable assets and population can suffer serious or catastrophic impacts. In addition, del Campo recalls that with “the red notice you cannot travel, unless it is strictly necessary.”
On the other hand, the orange level also poses a significant danger. Assets and the population that are vulnerable or in exposed areas could suffer serious impacts, for which reason they recommend that citizens “be prepared”.
The measures of the decree against heat
The Government approved a Royal Decree Law to deal with the effects of climate change. It establishes the specific obligation to provide adequate measures to protect those who work in the face of extreme temperatures.
All the measures, they explain from the Ministry of Labor, will be based on an evaluation of occupational risks. This will take into account both the characteristics of the task and the individual ones.
In the case of extreme heat alerts, it will be forced to adapt the working conditions. It will be done by reducing or modifying the development hours of the scheduled workday.