Walter Finch
THE record for the hottest December day ever in mainland Spain was set today in Malaga.
Thermometers hit an incredible 29.9C at 14.20 just two weeks before Christmas, beating the previous record of 29.4°C set in Motril, Granada, on December 10, 2010.
The Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) has confirmed that, along with Malaga, three other observatories exceeded the earlier record, while two more matched it.
Just kilometres away, Malaga’s airport recorded temperatures of 29.4°C, shattering its own December record by a staggering 4.9°C.
The heat has been put down to a combination of warm ‘terral’ air, which this time of year is usually cooler, with a mass of warm air coming in.
“There has been a situation since last Saturday due to an anticyclonic ridge, with an air mass that has been warming over the Spanish mainland,” said Aemet’s local director Jesus Riesco.
“The ridge has begun to retreat today towards the sea and on its way the ‘terral’ has caused this air to be warmer,” he added.
Alhama de Murcia came a narrow second, marking a scorching 29.8 degree Celsius an hour earlier, while Novelda in Alicante also scraped into the 29 degrees bracket by one decimal point.
Last month was also one of the warmest and driest Novembers In Malaga province for 73 years.
Between November 10 and November 16, Spain experienced the summer of San Martin, an ‘unusual warm episode’, according to Aemet, which meant the arrival of almost summer-like temperatures on the Mediterranean coast.
The phenomenon, which does not occur every year, brought with it average temperatures of between 15 and 17 degrees with areas like the Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol hitting above 30 degrees.
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