The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has issued a warning for a new heatwave that will affect the Canary Islands starting Friday, 9 August.
According to the predictions of the ECMWF model, an influx of African air will reach the archipelago moderately at first, but will increase in intensity over the weekend, peaking in the early hours of Monday, 12 August.
Significant Temperature Increase
The forecast includes a significant rise in maximum temperatures in the highlands and midlands of the southern parts of the islands. Aemet warns that these high temperatures could persist until Friday, 16 August, potentially reaching the highest values recorded for this time of year.
Skies will remain clear with strong trade winds prevailing. At sea, northeast winds of force 5 or 6 are expected, along with strong swells and waves from the north reaching heights of 1 to 2 meters.
This new heat episode in the Canary Islands follows a summer of extreme temperatures in Spain, with unusually high temperatures already recorded in July. With these forecasts, the Canary Islands should brace for a week of intense heat and haze, which could set new temperature records in the archipelago.
July 2024: An Extremely Hot Month In the Canary Islands
July 2024 was notably hot throughout Spain, with an average temperature of 24.4°C, which is 1.3°C above the historical average for the period 1991-2020. This makes it the sixth warmest July since 1961 and the fifth warmest of the 21st century.
In the Canary Islands, the average temperature was 23.2°C, with a positive anomaly of +0.9°C, making it the tenth warmest July since 1961. Additionally, the archipelago experienced a very wet July, with an average rainfall of 2.2 mm, which is 244% of the expected value.
The Canary Islands recorded three warm episodes in July, though none met the criteria to be classified as a heatwave. The most notable periods occurred from 18 to 21 and from 23 to 27 July, with the 25th being the hottest day, reaching temperatures of 38.8°C in Tenerife and 42.9°C on the 19th.
