Spain has just recorded its hottest November ever, with an average temperature of 12.4 degrees Celsius, surpassing the previous record of 11.9 degrees set in 1983, according to the national meteorological agency Aemet.
“This November has been the warmest across the entire Iberian Peninsula since records began in 1961,” the public agency announced on social media, highlighting that temperatures exceeded the average for this month from 1991 to 2020 by “2.8 degrees.”
Moreover, November was characterized as “very dry overall,” with precipitation levels 40% below normal “despite heavy rains in the early days on the Mediterranean side” following severe weather that devastated the Valencia region at the end of October, Aemet clarified.
Between October 29 and 30, torrential downpours struck southeastern Spain, resulting in tragic flooding that claimed at least 230 lives. These intense rains were followed by further substantial rainfall throughout November.
As a European nation on the front lines of the climate crisis, Spain has been experiencing increasingly severe heatwaves in recent years, raising concerns among scientists despite the country’s history of high temperatures.
In 2023, Spain recorded its second hottest year since records began, with an average temperature of 15.2°C, just behind the record of 15.5°C set in 2022, as reported by the meteorological agency.
