Spain to swelter under heat dome from August 5

From 'hellhound' to heat dome: what to expect from August's temperature spike

Next week, Spain is bracing for a weather phenomenon christened with names that sound straight out of a B-movie: 'heat dome, hellhound variant'. The phrase, coined by some outlet that decided solemnity doesn't sell, has triggered a mix of alarm and scepticism. The core of the matter, however, is less poetic: a stationary mass of African air — a heat dome — that will send temperatures soaring from the 5th, with peaks that could exceed 45 °C across large parts of the interior and the south.

A name that says it all (and nothing)

The decision to label the episode the 'hellhound' is no accident. It echoes the controversy over naming storms, but here the scale is different. While some celebrate the media hook, others argue that exaggeration undermines credibility. Some maintain that alarmist terminology backfires: people get used to the noise and downplay genuine warnings. On the other side, defenders of the name argue that, with temperatures that have already melted railway tracks in previous years, the drama is justified.

The Roman curiosity creeping into the debate

Among the reactions to the weather announcement, an old belief has resurfaced: the Romans thought that Sirius, the brightest star, 'recharged the Sun' during the dog days. The dog days of summer owe their name precisely to that constellation. A coincidence that makes 'hellhound' an epithet with pedigree: the most intense heat of the year arrives when Sirius aligns with the Sun. The fact is mere trivia, but it shows just how much the phenomenon of extreme heat has fascinated every civilisation.

The figures that matter and those that don't

The debate has become entangled in conspiracy theories (estela, HAARP, illuminati particles) that distract from the key fact: an exceptionally stable and persistent warm air mass is expected. Weather services, which have improved their models, point to a duration of at least four days, with tropical nights in many provincial capitals. What remains unclear is whether the intensity will be historic or simply another episode in an upward trend. Sceptics note that the same script repeats every summer: maximum alerts that end up as intense but not record-breaking heatwaves. The more cautious recall that records were already broken at several stations last year.

With thermometers about to spike, the question hanging in the air is whether alarmism erodes credibility or, on the contrary, is the only language society understands. Like the Romans with Sirius, perhaps the only certainty is that the heat will return. And that we like to give it a name.