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CLIMATE CRISIS

Spain sees warmest January on record

Spain has just experienced its warmest January since current records began in 1961, national weather office Aemet said Wednesday, after temperatures neared 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions.

Published: 8 February 2024 09:04 CET
Spain sees warmest January on record
People enjoy the warm weather on La Concha beach in San Sebastian on January 26, 2024 as temperatures around 30°C were recorded in Spain. (Photo by ANDER GILLENEA / AFP)

The average temperature in mainland Spain for January 2024 was 8.4 Celsius, or 2.4 degrees higher than average for the period and 0.4 degrees above the previous record set in 2016, Aemet said.

Temperatures reached or exceeded 20 Celsius last month at nearly 400 meteorological stations, or nearly half the country’s total.

Temperatures rose to 29.5C in the eastern region of Valencia, 28.5C in Murcia in the southeast and 27.8C near Malaga in the south — levels usually seen in June.

The unseasonable winter weather, which drew people to beaches and outdoor cafes across Spain, delayed the start of the ski season and worsened a years-long drought in Catalonia in the northeast and in the southern region of Andalusia.

While January “was a rainy month overall, the distribution of rainfall was very uneven: at least it rained where rainfall was needed the most”, Aemet spokesman Ruben del Campo said in a post on X.

Spain had already in 2022 experienced its hottest year since Aemet’s annual records began, with an average annual temperature of nearly 15.5 Celsius.

It was the first time that the average yearly temperature surpassed 15 degrees Celsius.

Catalonia’s regional government declared last week a drought emergency for Spain’s second-largest city of Barcelona and much of the surrounding region, paving the way for tighter water use restrictions after three years without significant rainfall.

It took the measure after water levels at reservoirs in the Mediterranean region fell below 16 percent of full capacity, the benchmark set by the authorities for applying a new round of water-saving measures that will affect around six million people.

Water levels in some reservoirs in Catalonia are so low that old bridges and even a church bell tower have resurfaced in some areas.

Measures to curb water use include a ban on using fresh water for swimming pools, with some exceptions for recognised use in sports. Cars can also now be washed only with recycled water and public gardens irrigated with groundwater.

The measures aim to cut the amount of water used to irrigate crops by 80 percent, doubling the 40 percent reduction introduced last November.

Industries must cut water use by 25 percent, whereas previously it was 15 percent.

‘Complicated situation’

Catalonia is facing its worst drought since records began in 1916, with rainfall lower than average in the region for the past three years.

The drought has lasted more than twice as long as the previous dry spell in 2008, the regional government said.

Andalusia is also struggling with severe drought, with regional authorities warning that water-use restrictions will be needed in Seville and Malaga this summer if there is not sufficient rain before then.

Andalusia and Catalonia, Spain’s two most populous regions, are both preparing to import fresh water by boat if needed.

“We are facing a very complicated situation,” Agriculture Minister Luis Planas told reporters in Madrid after the report of January temperature record.

“Spaniards know very well that climate change is here,” he added.

Experts say climate change driven by human activity is boosting the intensity and frequency of extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts and wildfires.

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PROPERTY

BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Though many people hang laundry, plants, and flags from their balcony, in Spain the rules on what you can and can't do on 'el balcón' are not well-known.

Published: 8 May 2024 17:13 CEST
BBQs, nudity and plants: What are the balcony rules in Spain?

Imagine the scene: you’ve just bought or signed the lease on your dream apartment. It’s bright and airy, with plenty of space, and even has a nice-sized balcony to get some fresh air on. You can do whatever you want there, right? 

Not exactly. In Spain the rules on what you can and can’t do on a balcony (even if it’s private) depend on a few factors, namely the regional and local rules, as well as getting the approval of the building’s homeowner’s association – known in Spain as la comunidad.

Some of them might just surprise you.

READ ALSO: ‘La comunidad’: What property owners in Spain need to know about homeowners’ associations

There are four main things or activities on balconies that could potentially put you on the wrong side of the local rules and even get you fined: barbecues, plants, laundry, and flags.

In all cases (even if you don’t think you’re breaking any rules) you’ll generally need to consider two things: firstly, does this affect or change the building’s façade? And secondly: will la comunidad allow it?

Barbecues

In Spain there is no national law prohibiting barbecues on private property, so in principle it is legal as long as the barbecue is lit in a private space such as your own balcony, garden or terrace, and not a shared space.

Often in Spain, the roof (usually referred to as la terrazza) is a shared space people use for storage and hanging their laundry, so be sure to check with the comunidad.

In terms of your own balcony, however, although there’s no law saying outright you can’t have a barbecue, you’ll need to take into account the rules and regulations in force in each locality or region. There may also be specific rules within the building that long-term homeowners have developed over the years.

As we will see, many of these low-level regulations are delegated to local governments and town halls in Spain, so the answer to these sorts of questions is usually: it depends where you are.

However, according to Article 7 of Spain’s Horizontal Property Law, “the owner and the occupant of the flat or premises are not allowed to carry out in it or in the rest of the property activities prohibited in bylaws, which are harmful to the property or which contravene the general provisions on annoying, unhealthy, harmful, dangerous or illegal activities.”

This basically gives your neighbours the right to complain about noise, smells, smoke and any possible fire risk in or around their building, which barbecues could plausibly fall under.

As with co-living anywhere in the world, regardless of the regional or local rules, employ some common sense: be reasonable, listen to neighbour’s concerns and take up any disputes with the President of la comunidad.

READ ALSO: What you need to know before having a barbecue in Spain

Plants

Again, with plants the responsibility falls on each local authority to set the rules. In Spain, most regions and town halls state that, as long as the architectural or structural elements of the building are not changed or weakened in any way, putting plants on your balcony is permitted.

However, note that many terraces and balconies do have maximum weight regulations that must be respected in order to guarantee their safety, which is 200kg per square metre. If this figure is exceeded (and it can be proved) you could theoretically be fined.

Laundry

Laundry lines criss-crossing the streets might be one of the more picturesque images of Spanish life, but the people doing it might actually be breaking the rules.

How do you know? You guessed it, it depends where you. You’ll need to check with your local authority on this one, though municipal regulations in Barcelona, Madrid and Valencia all regulate hanging laundry from your balcony, which is again outlined in the Horizontal Property Law.

This principally seems to be because it affects the façade of the building (a common theme when it comes to balcony rules in Spain).

In places with rules about hanging laundry from balconies, you could be fined up to 750 euros if you don’t comply with the rules.

However, according to Foto Casa, even if you live in an area where there are no bans or penalties against hanging laundry on the balcony, you’ll still likely need the permission of la comunidad.

READ MORE: Spain’s weirdest laws that foreigners should know about

What about flags?

Whether it be the Spanish flag, the Catalan, Valencian or Andalusian flags, or LGBT, trade union or football team flags, flags proudly hanging from balconies is another mainstay of Spanish life.

It’s also one of the more controversial ones too, especially within comunidad meetings. Hanging flags on the balcony, as well as allegedly altering the aesthetics and security of the building (the same concern as with laundry) often has ideological connotations that can cause conflict.

Again, as with laundry, hanging flags on the balcony will require the approval of all the owners within the community, something that must be agreed at a meeting, as per the Horizontal Property Law.

However, if the flag is placed inside the property, as it is a private property, fellow homeowners cannot oppose it, even if it is visible from the street, according to Foto Casa.

Nudity 

Article of 185 of Spain’s Penal Code only considers being naked at home to be obscene exhibitionism and sexual provocation if it affects minors, in which case it is punishable with a fine or up to a year in prison.

Therefore, you could technically sunbathe shirtless or naked on your balcony in most cases without getting into trouble, although it won’t necessarily go down well with your neighbours and/or flatmates and you be reprimanded for it.

READ ALSO: Can you go shirtless or wear a bikini in the street in Spain?

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