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WEATHER

2023 was second-hottest year on record in Spain

Spain endured its second-hottest year on record in 2023, which followed on from its hottest year ever since records began more than six decades ago, the AEMET weather agency said on Thursday.

Published: 30 May 2024 11:58 CEST
2023 was second-hottest year on record in Spain
Tourists visiting the Royal Palace in Madrid under very high temperatures in July 2023. Photo: Thomas COEX/AFP.

Last year’s average temperature was 15.2 degrees Celcius (59.36 degrees Fahrenheit), which was 1.2C higher than normal, spokesman Ruben del Campo told reporters on unveiling the agency’s annual climate report.

“The average temperature in Spain has risen by more than 1.5C since 1961 with the hottest 10 years all occurring in the 21st century,” AEMET said on X, formerly Twitter, referring to the year in which records began.

Last year also saw the warmest spring on record, and no month registered temperatures that were colder than normal, AEMET said, indicating nine out of 12 months were “warm, very warm or extremely warm”.

It was also the sixth driest year on record.

READ ALSO: Tenerife to call drought emergency as Spain struggles with water shortages

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CLIMATE CRISIS

‘Far hotter than normal’: Spain set for scorching summer after rainy June

Rainy periods have marked June so far in parts of the country, but Spain’s meteorological agency has warned that it could still have one the hottest summers on record.

Published: 20 June 2024 09:43 CEST
'Far hotter than normal': Spain set for scorching summer after rainy June

Spain could be set for a “far hotter than normal” summer this year, with experts predicting that it could be one of the hottest on record. This is according to forecasts by Spain’s state meteorological agency (Aemet).

Aemet spokesman RubĂ©n del Campo stated that “there’s a high probability that temperatures will be much higher than normal and that this summer will be among the hottest 20 percent on historical record.”

READ ALSO: 2023 was second-hottest year on record in Spain

He added that the probability of a scorching summer is between 70-100 percent in most of Spain, and that the unusually warm weather could be felt most in the northern half of the peninsula, as well as the eastern Canary Islands.

Aemet posted some weather forecast maps to its X/Twitter account in recent days, with the entirety of the Spanish mainland and islands covered in dark red, meaning a high probability of abnormally high temperatures. “The high probability” of a heatwave, it said, “extends to the rest of southern Europe and northern Africa.”

This follows something of a stop-start June with rainy periods in many parts of the country. Del Campo admitted that so far “it seems that the summer hasn’t started” because temperatures are “slightly” lower than normal for the time of year, but stressed that Aemet forecast models predict that the intense heat will not take long to arrive. 

A marked rise in temperatures is expected for this weekend, although they could drop again next week before going up again as high summer approaches, according to forecasts.

With regards to rainfall, it seems it will likely also be a dry summer with little rain. Del Campo predicted “a summer with less rain than usual, especially in the north and inland peninsula”, where there is a 50-60 percent probability of rainfall below historical averages for the time of year:  “The most likely scenario is that of a quarter with less rainfall than usual,” he added.

Though an unusually wet Easter period helped to refill some of Spain’s dwindling reservoir reserves, a long period of dry weather will likely worsen Spain’s ongoing drought conditions. The problem is particularly bad in Catalonia and Andalusia.

READ ALSO: Will drought restrictions affect summer holidays in Spain?

Looking back on spring temperatures, Aemet data shows that it was also one of the warmest on record. Del Campo stressed that it was “the eighth warmest spring of the 21st century and the tenth since the start of the historical series in 1961.”

The average temperature during spring was 13.1C, which is 0.7C above average values for the 1991-2020 period. “Eight of the ten warmest springs on record have been recorded since 2006, further evidence of climate change,” Del Campo said.

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