This heat wave hammered the country’s temperatures, shattering records as July raced on. Extreme heat pushed past 40ºC in many areas, prompting widespread concern about whether the trend would continue. For the moment, the European Space Agency has warned that a notable anticyclone, Cerberus, could push the record higher than the 48ºC set in Italy two years ago.
According to two-week outlooks from the national meteorological service and independent portals, temperatures are expected to stay above normal across nearly all of Spain, with the center, south, and east regions, plus the archipelagos, particularly affected. While predicting another heat wave remains uncertain, starting Monday the mercury is poised to rise again.
Map with 10 July heat wave Copernican
Saturday, July 15 marked the onset of a heat wave in Spain, historically the hottest period of the year. During this phase, temperatures peak and the duration varies by region, typically extending from mid-July to mid-August.
Several factors explain a heat wave, including the Sun’s high position and intense solar radiation that heats the earth. Coastal areas are moderated by seas and oceans, so inland zones often endure higher extremes.
Overall, atmospheric stability is expected to prevail over the weekend due to a high-pressure regime, leading to high but not extreme temperatures. Still, some northern peninsula areas may experience short-lived instability.
It is clear the heat wave remains in full swing, with many cities recording 30ºC to 35ºC, and signs edging toward 35ºC to 40ºC in several spots.
Minimum temperatures will stay elevated, especially along the coast due to warm water anomalies. Capitals will experience tropical nights and some equatorial nights, mainly along the Mediterranean coast and nearby areas. Haze will persist, particularly in southern and eastern Spain and the Canary Islands, but its extent is expected to ease toward the end of the week and into the next.
#To guess
Two weeks before the end of July, temperatures appear likely to stay above normal in the center, south, and east of the peninsula and across both archipelagos. A social media note from Eltiempo.es dated 13 July 2023 reflects similar expectations about a persistent heat phase.
During periods of high pressure in the Mediterranean, the northwest peninsula might see Atlantic-driven instability, bringing intermittent and temporary precipitation from northern Galicia to the Cantabrian Sea, the upper Ebro, and the Pyrenees.
In the Canary Islands, easterly winds keep capitals near 30ºC, but a shift back to cooler trade winds is anticipated over the weekend to ease heat and disperse fog.
In summary, stable and warm conditions are expected next week, though not as extreme as the current spell. As July progresses, temperatures remain elevated but show modest moderation.
New record forecast in the coming days
The European Space Agency warned this week that the extreme heatwave affecting much of Spain, Italy, and Portugal could cause fatalities. The world’s hottest official record, 48 degrees, may be surpassed in the days ahead.
Following a spring and early summer marked by storms and floods, including the hottest June on record, Cerberus threatens to push temperatures beyond the 48ºC mark. It arrived earlier than the 2021 record in Floridia, Italy, and is now poised to challenge those numbers again.
Italy, Spain, France, Germany, and Poland are experiencing a heatwave that pushed thermometers above 40ºC in the first half of July, during what the World Meteorological Organization notes as a historically hot period.
Copernicus Sentinel-3 readings for 9–10 July show that the energy emitted by Earth itself rose well beyond what air temperatures suggest. In some regions, temperatures exceeded 46 ºC in Madrid, 47 ºC in Seville, and even over 50 ºC in parts of Italy.
The current heat aligns with the El Niño warming in the Pacific, suggesting more records could fall worldwide.
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Citation: environmental data attributed to the official meteorological agencies and space research bodies.