Scorching September in Spain: Temperatures exceed 45 degrees and break record

Spain has recorded a temperature of 45.7 degrees Celsius in the Andalusian town of El Granado, near the Portuguese border. The national weather service AEMET announced the reading on Friday on X, calling it the country’s highest daily temperature of the year.

The heat also broke Spain’s previous September record, set in 2016 in Montoro, another town in Andalusia. AEMET cautioned that the figures remain provisional.

Unusually high temperatures for September, around 40 degrees, are expected to persist through the weekend and into the beginning of next week, particularly in the Ebro River valleys and southern Spain. Mallorca could also see temperatures of up to 36 degrees early next week.

Experts say human-caused climate change is contributing to heat waves becoming more intense, longer and more frequent. AEMET has recorded four heat waves in Spain this year, all since June. The agency defines a heat wave as a period of hot weather lasting at least three days, extending beyond a local area and bringing temperatures well above the usual average.

The heat has remained oppressive across much of the summer. So-called tropical nights, when temperatures stayed as high as 30 degrees, caused particular problems, while even the Mediterranean offered little relief. Sea temperatures off Mallorca exceeded 33 degrees in August, setting a record.