Mainland Spain saw its hottest May day on record last Friday, with national weather agency AEMET reporting on Monday that the country’s average temperature exceeded 24 degrees Celsius.
According to preliminary data from AEMET, the nationwide average temperature reached 24.08°C, surpassing the previous May record of 23.73°C set on 21 May 2022.
‘This was the hottest day for a month of May across mainland Spain since the beginning of the data series in 1950,’ AEMET posted on social media.
The heat persisted into Saturday, when the average temperature hit 23.91°C, marking it as the second warmest May day ever recorded.
A wave of hot air moving northward from Africa was responsible for driving temperatures in parts of Spain to more than 10°C above typical seasonal levels.
In the southern Andalusia region, temperatures soared past 40°C.
Though rare, this kind of intense heat in May isn’t without precedent. AEMET noted that similar spikes in temperature happened in both 2015 and 2022.
‘This reflects a scenario where summer-like conditions are arriving earlier and more frequently, even before spring has ended,’ said AEMET spokesperson Ruben del Campo.
Experts say that human-driven climate change is contributing to more frequent, prolonged, and severe extreme weather events, including heatwaves.
Spain, currently recovering from a prolonged drought, has experienced its three hottest years on record in succession.
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📈 Récord de temperatura | El pasado día 30 fue la jornada más cálida para un mes de mayo en el conjunto de la España peninsular desde el comienzo de la serie en 1950.
— AEMET (@AEMET_Esp) June 2, 2025
→ Tanto ese día como el 31 desbancan al 21 de mayo de 2022, el más cálido hasta la fecha. pic.twitter.com/1zgOFGdvW6
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