LarryR

Living in a tiny atico in the centre of an inland town must be horrendous. The heat, noise from neighbours dogs barking, incessant moto's , it would send me mad. Only plus side would be that you could heat it with a candle in Feb😅

veelin

Hi all, just picking up on a couple of things mentioned in the thread. We are planning to move to Spain within the next 12 months but can't figure out the best place to go. We've read all those doom and gloom articles about heat extremes, so we thought we need to choose the right area - the question is, how? It says in some of the comments that the coastal areas are cooler than inland. We spent a few months in coastal Spain near Malaga a couple of years ago, and I remember a woman saying that she lives up in the hills, where it's a bit cooler. An estate agent, on the other hand, said that there's always a breeze down by the beach, so that would be cooler. Which one would you say is right? Also, something I can't get my head around: with rising temperatures, does that mean the temperature will be going up generally all year round, or does it mean instead that there will be more (and longer) episodes of heat extremes? Or is it both? We like the Malaga coastal area, so it would be our first choice. I've been thinking of the Alpujarras as an alternative, but reading more about it, I don't think it's necessarily cooler up there. Oh, and just to explain, we don't mind heat, it's just the extremes that worry us.

spainrico

So your question is: 'How long is a piece of string'

All I would say is there are always sea breezes so stay closer to the coast.

Do some research here
https://www.aemet.es/es/portada

Ronnyone

Well no one knows for sure but this May has been one of the hottest recorded and last year was definitely breaking records. We are only in June and normally the college kids wear trousers until the end of term ( 20th June) but this year my son said that everyone has been wearing shorts as it has been really hot. Yesterday here in torrevieja it was 35 degrees and I had a really uncomfortable sleep. A bit cooler today though. Yes the coasts have slightly cooler temperatures, that's why many Spanish who only live a few kilometres inland have summer apartments by the coast for August. Inland can get very hot indeed and also be aware of fires. Today near Malaga there is a big one and people are being evacuated. Last year was bad for fires and of course experts point to the soaring heats as providing the perfect conditions for them. So all in all its probably true things are getting hotter. After a few years most people start to dread August in the same way you kind of dread the winter months in uk. As a poster pointed out here most Spanish deal with august by closing windows and blinds during the day leaving early to get food etc and then wait until dark when you open up to cool the insides. Hence the reason you see the grandmothers with their chairs sitting on the pavements late at night- that's the bearable time.

Moses2013

Even the keen gardener will tell you that a garden has various microclimates, so you can only use common sense and get a feel yourself. Of course living by the sea you will always have a breeze and inland can be cooler in winter and hotter in summer. When we are in Spain, it's usually the North East and we are still lucky that we have green around us but droughts are increasing too and we avoid going in summer. Some people won't be bothered and as long as water comes out of the tap, it's not a problem.

DLC

Both, but remember if you're on the coast there's also more humidity which makes it feel warmer and you'll probably want air conditioning or at least a dehumidifier.

Both, also it seems spring and autumn last about a couple of weeks.

growinspain

You were not in the Valencia region this year then... Rain, rain, and more rain with the temperature hardly getting to 60-65° (f) up until May...

DLC

Further north, it was like someone turned on the taps for two weeks, then turned them off and it was suddenly summer.

I knew when writing it that someone was going to say that wasn't true where they are.

Mark604

I need to drive and hour and a half to get to the coast and as a rule of thumb, the coast is warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer for us.
Looking at the weather forecast, next week it'll be 40 or 41 degrees inland and 30, 31 on the coast. Humidity plays its part though on the feeling of how hot/cool it is.

TicTac111

I must say I think I do understand that it is not easy to deal with the heat, but I think I can manage after reading this thread and some others, so thanks to all of you for your advice and writing about your experience.

Ronnyone

And today we start the first ola de calor ( heat wave)!!. 42 degress inland and 38 in Madrid. Coast is a couple degrees cooler but set to last until Tuesday. 10.00 pm now and its 28 !! Ready for one of those strange half-sleep nights.

Moses2013

The good news is that it's nearly over and cooler temps on the way. In Seville it's dropping below 40c again and might only reach 35c by next week.
I'm in Ireland and we might reach a scorching 19c today and 24c on Thursday. I was looking at the weather for Lloret and might be 35c on Friday which is very rare and it normally never goes above 30c there in June, but what is normal these days. I'll be back in October and happy with temps around 22c - 24c at that time of the year.

Ronnyone

The real problem though is night temperatures. They dont really go below 20 even at 3.00am and this means disruptive sleeps for many. With Covid back again ( here in Torrevieja 2 work colleagues have it) it can be really nasty experience if you have a fever in these temps. Today another worker was late because she said she had taken her husband to hospital with a small fracture only to find it choc a block with folk with heat stroke ( she said that many were foreigners who probably had spent hours on the beach when it was in the high 30s) . So these heatwaves might only last 4 or 5 days but they have real health impacts.

scampicat

Just checking in on this forum after years away.

We lived in Las Alpujarras (Yegen) for eight years from 2004-2011. I personally think it IS cooler because of the altitude. I never acclimatised to the heat though, but that's just me, even a hot day in the UK is too much for me.

Unless the Alpujarras villages have changed dramatically since we left, you will find a friendly welcome. I highly recommend.

Ronnyone

The issue with places like Alpujarras and the extreme temperatures we have experienced this summer is the fires. It's a very green area and many places might look lovely with all the mountains etc but last year proved that such places can be at very high risk. After seeing the incredible fires over the summer there is no way I would feel remotely safe in such areas. Not to mention the chance of losing so much.