Palm trees melt in Spain amid sweltering heatwave as temperatures hit 45C

22 July 2023 , 08:29

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Palm trees melt in Spain amid sweltering heatwave as temperatures hit 45C

Shocking footage has laid bare the effects of climate change in Spain as palm trees are seen wilting and even snapping in the heat.

Local media said that between July 17 and 18, nearly a dozen palm trees in Alicante province met the same fate. Elche, Benidorm, and Torrevieja are among the places where palms have come crashing down amid the scorching heat.

Temperatures in Alicante were in the high thirties, but the Spanish met office (Aemet) recorded a maximum of 44.2 degrees in inland Álora and at the airport, which is the officially quoted weather station for Malaga, in Andalusia.

And temperatures on Tuesday peaked at 45.4 degrees Celsius in Figueres, in the Catalonia region, a record high for the northeastern region.

A woman with a fan walks in downtown Mallorca during the heat wave (Clara Margais/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

Biology professor Manuel Crespo from the University of Alicante directly links the ongoing heatwave to the palms' deaths.

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He told local media: "Should irrigation be reduced due to drought, the compacting of the soil can lead to root damage due to insufficient aeration, ultimately weakening the plant and possibly causing it to detach from the ground in extreme cases."

He added that although palm trees are often present in deserts, "they are only found in oases with abundant groundwater".

Agronomist and Spanish Landscapers' Association president Jose Luis Romeu also told local media: "Palm trees can fall due to multiple factors, and one of them is lack of irrigation. The stiffer the trunk of a palm tree, the higher the risk."

He added: "In the past, palm trees, especially in Elche, were located around irrigation ditches. Now, in parks with sprinkler irrigation, water only reaches the first few centimetres.

Palm tree falls in Crevillent, Spain due to the hot weather (CEN)

"While it's true that there were significant rains in April, May, and June, providing important and sufficient irrigation, we are currently dealing with a lot of water stress and abrupt temperature changes, and the plant does not have the capacity for such rapid adaptation."

The agronomist continued: "If palm trees are placed in areas where they cannot expand their root system and anchor themselves well to the substrate, it can lead to the plants becoming unstable and falling."

The Elche Film Festival decided to cancel all its screenings in the Hort del Xocolater garden this week after a seemingly-healthy palm tree collapsed on July 16.

The organisers cited the heatwave and the risk of further falls as reasons for moving out of the palm-filled venue.

Rachel Hagan