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WEATHER

Spain braces for first heatwave of the summer with 43C forecast

The first 'ola de calor' of the summer is set to bring scorching temperatures to much of Spain this weekend that may last into next week.

Published: 22 June 2023 16:12 CEST
Spain braces for first heatwave of the summer with 43C forecast
A group of people on a horse-drawn carriage protect themselves from the sun with an umbrella in Seville. Photo: CRISTINA QUICLER/AFP.

Spain is expecting its first heatwave of the summer as the arrival of a mass of hot air from Africa could send temperatures above 40C over the weekend.

The scorching temperatures, which are more usual in late-July or early-August, are arriving earlier than usual in the year and will be exacerbated by a lack of wind in certain parts of the peninsula. High levels of humidity will cause so-called ‘tropical nights’ in many parts of the country where the mercury will not fall below 20C overnight.

READ ALSO: Where are the hottest places in Spain?

In some southern cities, such as Seville and Cádiz, overnight temperatures could be a sweltering 25C.

Temperatures on Thursday will top 30C across many parts of the country, but the highest will be in the southeast of the country, particularly in the Guadalquivir valley area and inland Murcia where temperatures will hit 35C.

On Friday, the mercury will continue to rise and the highs could be close to reaching 40C across the south, and over the weekend temperature could yet climb higher. There will be temperatures around 30C in the north, and 35C in inland Spain.

AEMET forecast graphics, seen below, show how the heatwave will be particularly clustered in the southwest of the country.

On Saturday and Sunday, the most intense heat is expected in the southwest of the peninsula, especially in the Guadalquivir valley. On Saturday, Córdoba and Seville could reach 41C and on Sunday 42C and 43C respectively.

Other cities in the southwest, such as Badajoz, also seem set to exceed 40C over the weekend, and similarly scorching temperatures are forecast across many areas of Andalusia, in the west of Castilla-La Mancha, as well as in the Madrid region.

Temperatures will surpass 35C in much of inland Spain, and be above 30C in the northern half of the country with 30C expected in Bilbao on Saturday.

The heat will be more bearable in the Canary Islands, where maximums temperatures are not expected to reach 30C. The Balearics are forecast to see temperatures in the low-30s throughout the weekend.

Forecasts from Spain’s state meteorological agency AEMET predict that the heatwave is here to stay and will last until at least the first days of next week, possibly longer. On Monday, the 26th, temperatures of 43C could be seen again in the southwest of the country.

By Tuesday and Wednesday, AEMET forecasts that temperatures will have dropped to a more comfortable 22 or 23C in northern Spain, but the high temperatures will remain in southern Spain. On Wednesday, Cordoba is set for highs of 44C, and temperatures will hover in the high-30s and low-40s across Andalusia.

The heatwave follows weeks of turbulent weather in Spain, with flash flooding and wildfires across differing parts of the country, as well as record temperatures in April.

Officially speaking, for scorching weather to be classified as a heatwave, the period of extreme heat must last at least three days and temperatures must exceed seasonal thresholds by 10 percent.

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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 Rubén 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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