Spring in Spain is becoming shorter and shorter as summer begins earlier. This is the conclusion of a new report by the meteorologist Benito Fuentes, from the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), which reveals that mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands hit 30ºC earlier every year.

In the past 70 years, summer heat has been arriving between 20 and 40 days earlier than it should (depending on the region). Other studies by Aemet have shown that summer is 40 days longer now than it was in the 1980s. 

“Summer is taking over spring,” Rubén del Campo, a spokesperson for Aemet, told El País, who says the cause of the phenomenon is due to global warming.

Spain has been experiencing unusually high temperatures this month that are more like those typically seen in June and July. These “will probably be among the warmest temperatures we’ve seen in May in the 21st century,” del Campo said.

On Friday the city of Andújar, (Jaén) reached 40.5ºC. It’s only the fourth time the 40ºC limit has been surpassed, but all have happened in the past 23 years.

Fuentes said the fact that Spain is reaching 30ºC earlier and earlier in the year is “without a doubt a direct and palpable consequence of climate change.” As summer extends into spring and autumn and winter is reduced to a short period, he said, Spain’s four seasons will end up being reduced to two: summer and “almost summer”.

While reaching 30ºC in May sporadically is not cause for concern, these unusually high temperatures are being reached at an earlier date. For example, in Seville in the 1970s, the average date the city would reach the 30ºC mark was June 19th. In the past decade, however, the average date has advanced to May 27th.

In Madrid, the 30ºC mark has advanced 25 days in 71 years.