TEMPERATURES across Spain could break all records this week, with inland provinces topping 40ºC – and even creeping close to 50ºC.
Holidaymakers in the far north-western region of Galicia know they can usually expect a pleasant warmth at this time of year, but its four provinces are on a 'red' weather warning for this week as the mercury is expected to peak at 42ºC in parts.
The western province of Badajoz could reach 47ºC, which would mean it broke the current national record by 0.1ºC. Luckily, despite its nearest sea being in Portugal, Badajoz has plenty of blue-flagged ‘inland’ beaches
The land-locked western region of Extremadura habitually experiences hot, dry summers – although it has plenty of blue-flagged beaches, despite being hundreds of kilometres from the sea – but temperatures forecast for around 44ºC and possibly as high as 47ºC in its southern province of Badajoz for this week are unprecedented.
The Mediterranean coast will see a week of temperatures between approximately 35ºC and 38ºC, probably breaking the 40ºC a short distance inland, although the Balearic Islands are expected to be around 3ºC lower.
Spokesman for the State meteorological agency AEMET, Rubén del Campo, says the next two days will see highs of 'over 35ºC practically everywhere on the mainland'.
He says the heatwave is very likely to last all week and even spill over into the early part of next – a total of around nine days.
Coastal areas, whilst more humid, tend to have slightly lower temperatures during heatwaves – which means that, although the average high on the Costa del Sol over the coming week is expected to be around 31ºC, that of the neighbouring, inland province of Sevilla is likely to reach 43ºC.
Other than in Galicia, most of the rest of the country is on 'orange' – particularly in inland parts of the southern region of Andalucía, including the provinces of Córdoba, Sevilla and Jaén, traditionally the hottest in Spain in summer, and also away from the coast in the province of Huelva.
Cádiz, Almería and Granada provinces are on 'yellow' as temperatures are predicted to hover between 36ºC and 39ºC this week.
Although the land-locked north-eastern region of Aragón has some seriously chilly winters – and multiple ski resorts – its summers can be very hot and arid, and 'yellow' alerts have been issued for the provinces of Teruel and Huesca as the mercury is forecast to soar to between 36ºC and 38ºC, whilst the 'middle' province of Zaragoza is on 'orange', as figures are predicted to hit 39ºC.
Central regions will see figures of at least 40ºC, including Madrid, putting them on 'orange', and most of the north is on 'orange' or 'yellow', with highs of between 35ºC and 40ºC almost guaranteed.
Torrid nights are on the cards, especially on the Mediterranean and certain parts of the centre, west and south.
'Tropical nights' are defined as those where the lowest early-morning temperatures sit at a minimum of 20ºC, and most of the mainland will experience these, with figures of 23ºC to 25ºC at least being par for the course over the next week.
Two or three heatwaves a year at least are normal for a Spanish summer – a time of year when temperatures rarely drop below 30ºC anywhere, except at altitudes, and up to around 35ºC is fairly typical in the south and east.
Other than in the three provinces known colloquially as 'the frying-pan of Spain' – Sevilla, Córdoba and Jaén – temperatures reaching 40ºC are considered 'exceptional'.
The town of Montoro, Córdoba province, holds the ‘unofficial’ record for Spain's highest temperature - 47.3ºC. The highest ‘official’ temperature so far is 46.9ºC, also in Córdoba province, one of three known colloquially as ‘the frying-pan of Spain’ (photo: David Daguerro/Wikimedia Commons)
So far, record highs in Spain have not been hugely above those of a 'standard' heatwave – the hottest 'unofficial' figure, on July 13, 2017, was 47.3ºC, recorded in the Córdoba-province village of Montoro.
As this is on the 'secondary' weather station network, it is not counted, so the highest 'official' temperature ever seen in Spain since records began is 46.9ºC, on the same day, at Córdoba airport.
Thermometers are placed in the shade, so the figure in direct sunlight would have been at least 5ºC to 10ºC higher.
With last month having been the third-hottest June in all time, it could be 2022 will see a new record top temperature.
Which makes it hard to believe that the record bottom temperature in Spain, just before daybreak on January 7, 2021, was a terrifying -35.6ºC.
Griegos, in the province of Teruel, has Spain's coldest summers, according to historic weather data, with August nights sometimes dropping to 0ºC. Now might be a good time to plan a visit (photo: Chantejot/Wikimedia Commons)
Some parts of Spain, however, are known for their comparatively chilly summers – sometimes dropping into single figures at night or even down to freezing, with normal daytime highs in July and August being below 20ºC.
If the current sweltering climes in most of the country are becoming too much to bear – particularly for those who do not have air-conditioning at home – now might be a good time to plan a last-minute trip to the 'Laplands of Spain' where you might even get a dusting of snow in the early hours.
