Laurence Dollimore
SUMMER officially begins tomorrow and will bring ‘hotter than average’ temperatures, weather agency AEMET has predicted.
Ending on September 23, this year’s sunny season will be at least 0.5 degrees higher than average.
It comes after spring 2019 was the sixth driest this century, confirming the growing drought problem affecting Spain.
The summer is likely to have similar temperatures to last year, which was 0.6C warmer than the average recordings between 1981 and 2010, but slightly less hotter than 2015 to 2017.
HOTSPOTS
AEMET said areas like Orense, Malaga, Zamora, León, Caceres, Huelva and south of Castilla-La Mancha could exceed the average by up to 1C.
The hottest area of Spain this summer will be the Guadalquivir valley, which could see an average temperature of 27C over the three month period.
The weather agency said in a press conference that temperatures will rise considerably next week across the country, but that it is too early to predict if there will be a heatwave.
The impending temperatures will raise the risk of forest fires, AEMET spokesperson Ruben del Campo warned, particularly following a dry spring.
