The weather forecast is clear: the San Martín summer is staying a little longer. Over the next few days, and especially this weekend, temperatures could reach record highs. The State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has sounded the alarm: we are about to see 37 records of warm days this year. Translated into simpler numbers: one in nine days has been warmer than normal.
On Twitter, Aemet put it in perspective: normally, we would have five heat records and five cold records a year. But this year, the cold hasn’t had its chance to shine. Temperatures continue to dance to the rhythm of an early spring or a late autumn, something strange for this time of year.
This weekend the warm trend continues. Clear to slightly cloudy skies are expected in most parts of the country, with low clouds, mists and morning fog in some areas. However, temperatures will begin to drop significantly next week. The Aemet warns: “Starting from these record minimum temperatures, next week we will move into a winter environment.”
Saturday the 18th will dawn clear or slightly cloudy in most of Spain, although in Galicia cloudiness will increase in the afternoon. Maximum temperatures will range between 20 and 22 degrees in many provincial capitals, although in Andalusia and the Canary Islands they could be higher. No big changes are expected for Sunday.
Over the next week, Aemet foresees a notable drop in temperatures for next week, marking a drastic change towards a more wintery environment. This change will be an important turnaround from the very soft records that have been experienced in recent days.
This change in weather patterns is not an isolated phenomenon. A study by meteorologist César Rodríguez, used by Aemet, shows that the duration of winter is reducing. Benito Fuentes, from Aemet, states that “current winters are a month shorter than in the middle of the 20th century.” This decrease varies by region; It is less pronounced in the southwest of the peninsula, but more evident in the center and east.
Fuentes explains that this reduction is due to the extension of other seasons such as spring and an autumn that is more similar to summer. Although not all winters are shorter than the previous ones, the general trend is towards predominantly shorter winters. Rodríguez concludes that “winter has reduced its duration by more than 30% in more than half of the country.”
