Spain endured an exceptionally hot August, with new records and notable regional differences
Spain faced an unusually intense summer marked by a heat anomaly around 2.2 degrees Celsius above the long-term average. This exceeded the 0.4ºC anomaly observed in 2003, establishing a new record for the hottest August in the modern climate series kept by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet).
Latest figures show August ranking as the second hottest month since the series began in 1961, trailing only the exceptional August of 2003. While the mainland followed a typical August rainfall pattern, the Canary Islands registered their third wettest August in the ongoing record, underscoring how climate impacts vary across regions.
Across mainland Spain, the average August temperature reached 24.7 °C, about 2 °C above the 1981-2010 reference period. This positioned August as the second warmest on record in the series and the warmest month of the 21st century, surpassed only by August 2003.
During the month, central and southeastern parts of the Iberian Peninsula experienced extreme heat, with the rest of the peninsula generally hot except for the western edge where conditions were warm or near normal. The Balearic Islands faced very hot conditions, and the Canary Islands saw hot to very hot weather across most areas.
The strongest thermal anomalies reached up to +3 °C in several regions, including southern Galicia, Castilla y León, the Basque Country, Navarra, La Rioja, Aragon, Catalonia, Madrid, eastern Extremadura, central and broader areas of Castilla-La Mancha, and parts of the Valencian Community and eastern Andalusia. Some locations in these zones approached anomalies near +4 °C.
Maximum daily temperatures averaged 2.1 °C above the long-term normal, while minimum values stood about 1.8 °C above the norm. The daily thermal swing was roughly 0.3 °C higher than typical for August, reflecting unusual warmth during both nights and days.
From July 30 to August 15, a pronounced heat wave affected the peninsula and the Balearic Islands, with an anomaly near 3.8 ºC. Peak temperatures reached 36.1 ºC, and the heat persisted across 27 provinces, highlighting the broad reach of the event.
Across 23 principal stations, August stood out as the warmest month of August since the series began at those sites. The monthly average of daily maximum temperatures at 17 major stations was the highest on record for August, and the mean of daily minimum temperatures was the highest since consistent observations began. The heat wave dominated the latter half of the first two weeks, delivering the month’s marquee values.
Specific records included Córdoba airport reaching 42.6 °C on the second day, Alicante and Almería hitting 42.0 °C on the thirteenth, and Alicante-Elche airport recording 41.9 °C on the same day. Seven main stations posted August’s highest temperature in the entire observation period, and several stations logged their warmest August nights on record, marking the month as particularly intense for nighttime lows as well as daytime highs.
Although August was exceptionally hot, it was not the driest month on the mainland. The average rainfall reached 21.8 mm, about 96% of the long-term August normal for the 1981-2010 reference period. It ended up being the thirty-seventh August with below-average rainfall since 1961 and the fifteenth such August in the 21st century. In the Canary Islands, after notable variability between 2005 and 2015, August has ranked as the third wettest month of the year in the overall series.
The overall pattern in August showed a peninsula-wide warmth with varying humidity. The northern and central regions, including Galicia and parts of Catalonia, experienced higher heat and humidity levels, while Galicia in particular reported drier conditions compared with other regions. The Balearic Islands displayed marked contrasts between northern islands that were more humid and southern areas that were drier, reflecting a mosaic of moisture delivery across the archipelago.