London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Wednesday, Jul 23, 2025

Spain's April heatwave sees temperatures nudging 40C

Spain's April heatwave sees temperatures nudging 40C

Unseasonably hot weather has seen April temperatures nudging 40C in parts of Spain. Last year was Spain's hottest since 1961, and warm air from North Africa is giving Spaniards a foretaste of another scorching summer several months early.
Spain's national weather service said temperatures would "reach values typical of summer" across most of the country, with a high of 38 degrees Celsius (100 degrees Fahrenheit) forecast Thursday for the southern Guadalquivir Valley.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, in Cordoba, it was 38.7 degrees. In Seville, 37,8.

As people sweltered in a country experiencing a severe drought, Spanish media reported that the Health Ministry would consider implementing a heat prevention plan two weeks early to help regions respond to the effects of the unseasonably warm weather.

The State Meteorological Agency, which is known by the Spanish acronym AEMET, said temperatures were "exceptionally high" for April because of a mass of very warm and dry air coming from North Africa.

With a long weekend coming up, some people packed beaches along the coast. But residents who could not escape the heat in Spain's inland capital, Madrid, were less lucky. Loli Gutiérrez, 70, said she was worried about what conditions would be like when summer actually comes.

"This is already unbearable. We are only in April. If this is happening in April, how is it going to be in June?" she said.

Last year was Spain's hottest since record-keeping started in 1961, and also the country's sixth driest despite the presence of the weather phenomenon La Niña, which slightly dampened global average temperatures.

Three years of scant rainfall and high temperatures put Spain officially into a long-term drought last month.

The Spanish government has requested emergency funds from the European Union to support farmers and ranchers in the country's agricultural heartlands, including the Guadalquivir Valley.

The world's biggest exporter of olive oil, Spain is also an important producer of fruits and vegetables for the European market. The drought has already driven up prices of Spanish olive oil to record levels.

Currently, 27% of Spanish territory is classified as in a drought "emergency" or "alert," according to the Ecological Transition Ministry, and water reserves are at 50% of capacity nationally.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Treasury Secretary Calls for Institutional Review of Federal Reserve Amid AI‑Driven Growth Expectations
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Severe Flooding in South Korea Claims Lives Amid Ongoing Rescue Operations
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
US Revokes Visas of Brazilian Corrupted Judges Amid Fake Bolsonaro Investigation
U.S. Congress Approves Rescissions Act Cutting Federal Funding for NPR and PBS
North Korea Restricts Foreign Tourist Access to New Seaside Resort
Brazil's Supreme Court Imposes Radical Restrictions on Former President Bolsonaro
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Judge Criticizes DOJ Over Secrecy in Dropping Charges Against Gang Leader
Apple Closes $16.5 Billion Tax Dispute With Ireland
Von der Leyen Faces Setback Over €2 Trillion EU Budget Proposal
UK and Germany Collaborate on Global Military Equipment Sales
Trump Plans Over 10% Tariffs on African and Caribbean Nations
Flying Taxi CEO Reclaims Billionaire Status After Stock Surge
Epstein Files Deepen Republican Party Divide
Zuckerberg Faces $8 Billion Privacy Lawsuit From Meta Shareholders
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
SpaceX Nears $400 Billion Valuation With New Share Sale
Microsoft, US Lab to Use AI for Faster Nuclear Plant Licensing
Trump Walks Back Talk of Firing Fed Chair Jerome Powell
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Irish Tech Worker Detained 100 days by US Authorities for Overstaying Visa
Dimon Warns on Fed Independence as Trump Administration Eyes Powell’s Succession
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Jeff Bezos Considers Purchasing Condé Nast as a Wedding Gift
Ghislaine Maxwell Says She’s Ready to Testify Before Congress on Epstein’s Criminal Empire
Bal des Pompiers: A Celebration of Community and Firefighter Culture in France
FBI Chief Kash Patel Denies Resignation Speculations Amid Epstein List Controversy
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
×