The first apparent heatwave of the year hit Spain last week, and there’s no let up yet as unusually high May temperatures are set to continue throughout much of this week too, with some parts of the country expected to reach 38C.
For the past week, Spain has been experiencing unusually high temperatures for this time of year, and according to the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet), there’s plenty more calor (heat) expected for another week.
Maximum temperatures of up to 39C were recorded in some parts of the Iberian Peninsula, along with tropical nights of above 20C.
Even northern Spain, which typically sees temperatures lower than the rest of the country, saw the mercury rise to above 30C this past week.
“The temperatures expected for the last week of May will be typical of midsummer: it is a very intense heat wave for this time of year. Moreover, it will be long-lasting ,” Aemet warned.
The week from May 25th to 31st “will be extraordinarily warm for this time of year in most of Spain, but especially in the interior of the peninsula,” they continued.
Meteorologists predict that conditions will stay much the same for most of this week. Aemet has forecast temperatures above 36-38C in inland Catalonia, western Andalusia near the Portuguese border and around Córdoba and Seville, as well as more tropical nights of over 20C.
It will be especially hot on Wednesday May 27th, before temperatures will begin to decrease again around Thursday or Friday.
Most of northern Spain will see more cloud cover this week, despite the sustained heat and rise of minimum temperatures, while there could be a few showers in the mountainous areas of Galicia.
Castilla y León will also see a continuation of high temperatures, which could rise to 33C but the end of the week, but may also experience showers and thunderstorms in the northwest.
La Rioja, Navarre and Aragón will also stay much the same this week, albeit with increased cloud cover. Aragón will also see significantly high for this time of year in the Ebro Valley of around 36-37C.
Catalonia again will be much the same as this weekend, with minimum temperatures rising along the Girona coast.
Scattered showers could be seen across the Pyrenees, but the highest temperatures will be experienced in the Lleida area of around 37C.
The heat in Central and Western Spain around Madrid, Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura will remain abnormally high for this time of year, reaching up to 35C in the capital, with a slight increase in cloud cover.
The Balearics, Valencia and Murcia will see similar temperatures in the high 20s, possibly reaching 30C or over in certain areas. Winds and coastal breezes have also been predicted in these regions, making conditions a lot more bearable.
Andalusia will see partly cloudy skies this week, but there’s no respite from the heat, particularly around Seville and Córdoba. Cádiz on the other hand will see very strong gusts of wind.
Temperatures in the Canary Islands are set to increase even more this week with the mercury expected to reach 37C in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura and 34C in Gran Canaria. Tenerife and La Gomera are not expected to be so hot.
For the beginning of June, there is greater uncertainty in the forecast, although it is expected that “above-normal temperatures will continue across almost the entire country, with little rainfall in most of the north and west of the Iberian Peninsula”, according to Aemet.
The second week of June is also expected to be “warmer than normal”.
It’s not just Spain that has seen an early heatwave this year. The UK, France, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Austria, Switzerland, northern Italy and the Czech Republic have all seen temperatures much higher than normal for this time of year.
Parts of the UK were even hotter than parts of Spain this past weekend with temperatures of above 30C recorded in southern England.
