MADRID – Last Monday the heatwave in Spain reached its highest values according to the Spanish meteorological agency Aemet. Of course, that does not mean the extreme heat is over. The month of August has yet to begin.
Fluctuations in high temperatures will therefore decrease after this heatwave that continues on Wednesday. The highest values were reached on Monday with temperatures approaching 45ºC in Loja (Granada) and 44ºC in numerous places in the southern third of the peninsula. While temperatures remain high during the second half of this week, Aemet does not expect them to exceed Monday’s thresholds.
Highest temperature in Spain so far
The 44.6ºC in Loja on Monday is the highest temperature recorded in the country so far this year. It is followed by the 44.5ºC in Villarrobledo (Albacete), the 44.4ºC in Montoro (Córdoba), the 44.2ºC at Granada Air Force Base and the 44.0ºC at Córdoba Airport.
These values were all recorded on Monday, the day the current heatwave started. “While the heatwave thresholds may not be exceeded during the second half of the week, we will continue to talk about high temperatures, intense heat in much of the country, but especially in the east and south of the peninsula,” the spokesperson for Aemet, Ruben Del Campo, said. Almería and Murcia could reach 45ºC on Wednesday; and Malaga, 42ºC.
Historical records
The current heatwave has broken historical records of maximum temperatures in July in Albacete and Daroca (Zaragoza), according to data from the network of nearly 800 stations of the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) collected by Servimedia.
On Tuesday, Albacete Air Base reached 42.9ºC, which is 0.3 more than the previous record of the hottest day in July at that location, which occurred on July 17, 1978. In addition, the municipality of Daroca in Zaragoza, also on Tuesday, reached 40 .6ºC, which is 0.9 more than on July 20, 1995, which was the warmest day of the month at that location so far (in both cases since historical records are known).
Cooler on Thursday in Valencia, Murcia and eastern Andalucia
Temperatures will drop in the region of Valencia, Murcia and eastern Andalucia on Thursday while rising in the west. The centre and south of the peninsula will largely have temperatures above 35ºC, and it could still reach over 40º in the interior of Andalucia. Meanwhile, some parts of the interior of Gran Canaria could also reach temperatures of 40ºC or 42ºC.
Warmer in Northern Spain
On Friday, the biggest increase will be in the north of the peninsula, especially in the Basque Country and Navarre, where temperatures could be 10 degrees higher than on Thursday, with maximums of 36ºC and 38ºC.
Some cooling on Saturday
Saturday will see a drop in temperatures across most of the country, except for the eastern end, where temperatures will rise. On Sunday it will be just the opposite: a drop in temperatures in the eastern end and an increase in the rest.
Cool air mass from the Atlantic Ocean
These fluctuations are caused by the arrival of a cool air mass from the Atlantic Ocean, which will reach the Mediterranean on Saturday and is expected to blow from the east on Sunday. This will see temperatures once again above 35ºC in the Ebro Valley and much of the centre and south of the peninsula, and 38ºC or 40ºC in the Guadalquivir Valley and parts of eastern Andalucia.
