What are the hottest beaches in Spain?

If you’re traveling to Alacant, Murcia or Valencia today, don’t expect a shower to refresh you. The water will be at 30 degrees Celsius on the beaches of Denia, Ixabaia, Cartagena or Malvarrosa, while offshore, on the sands, it will be a maximum between 29 and 31 degrees Celsius. What does this mean? That today on Malvarrosa beach, in the Valencian capital, the temperature will be higher than outside.

Do not expect this in the Balearic Islands, Castelo or Tarragona, where the sea will be at 29 degrees Celsius. On Caldetes beach (Maresme) the water will be at 28 degrees Celsius, and if you go down south, in Larinale, in l’Hospitalet de l’Infant, the forecast is 27 degrees Celsius, a couple of degrees lower than in Benicasim, in Castelo. In fact, there is no beach today where you can bathe in minus 25 degrees Celsius on all segments of the peninsula’s east coast; Although if you are satisfied with this temperature, you can visit the regions of Girona.

Today the beaches of Valencia, Murcia and the Balearic Islands reach 29°C and Barcelona beaches are still at 27°C.

The temperature at the buoy in the port of Barcelona was 27.3 degrees Celsius yesterday, so the record in the sheet of water near its shores will be somewhat higher, because temperatures near the coast are slightly higher. In Tarragona, if it’s not windy, it’s “like getting into a hot tub”, say meteorologists

The average water in Spain’s coastal regions was 24.6°C in mid-July, which is about 2.2°C higher than normal for this time of year. This is indicated by the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet). The measurements refer to average temperatures on the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts.

Warming is not only affecting the Mediterranean, but also affecting the Atlantic coast

On these dates, the “previous two year’s warmest records” are surpassed; This is 2015 (when 24°C was reached) and 2022 (23.7°C), according to Aemet. This situation has no “precedents in mid-July in the entire historical chain” that began in 1940.

In the same way, the Gulf of Lyon (in the waters between France and Spain) has reached abnormally high levels, precisely three degrees above average.

According to AEMET

Forecasts indicate that the coastal waters will continue to warm in the coming weeks.

All this situation, in the context of global ocean warming, was deemed particularly “worrying” by Ruben del Campo, Emmett’s spokesman, since summer is not over yet. The coastal waters are expected to continue to warm in the coming weeks, according to Jose Luis Camacho, also a spokesman for Emmett.

The peak point of this warming does not necessarily coincide with the heat wave, but rather will be “delayed”. “The peak in sea water temperature will be reached at the end of August, so the forecasts indicate that we still have a month to continue its rise,” he says.

The Mediterranean already shows a clear tendency to warm up; But this year the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian coast are very hot.

Jose Luis CamachoAemet spokesperson

“The Mediterranean already shows a clear tendency to warm up; but this year the temperature of the Bay of Biscay and the Cantabrian coast has improved a lot, ”notes José Luis Camacho. There have been heat waves in these areas of the Atlantic Ocean, which is one of the characteristics that best defines the months of June and July this year. Not only has warming occurred in the Bay of Biscay, but throughout the North Atlantic.

Ordinarily, measurements of coastal waters are not made adjacent to the shore, but are taken by making a short boat trip, or taken in buoys (at variable distances from the coast) or correspond to some installation of the ports, where these measurements are made.

The water temperature dynamics at the coast are also affected by the currents and upwelling of the deep waters

The weather condition of the area in question influences the water temperature dynamics on the coast as a primary factor, but secondarily, the currents and upwellings of the deeper waters, which are much cooler, influence it.

And this, in turn, depends on the type of coast. If the water is shallow, as in Tarragona, the water heats up significantly.

This could explain, for example, that unlike areas such as the Ebro delta, deep waters can appear in areas of the Galician coast, which is the case on a hot day in Galicia and with winds from the land, the water can be ashore at 19 degrees.

In Spain, in general, the bathing waters with the highest temperatures occur in the Balearic Islands or Murcia, while the greater the proximity to the Strait of Gibraltar, the colder the waters are likely to be. “The current comes from the Atlantic Ocean, which, together with the winds from the land, causes the bottom water level to rise,” Camacho adds.

Take the pulse of the water

Ordinarily, measurements of coastal waters are not made adjacent to the shore, but are taken by making a short boat trip, or taken in buoys (at variable distances from the coast) or correspond to some installation of the ports, where these measurements are made.
In l’Estartit, for example, one of Aemet’s collaborators takes a boat out and profiles water temperatures near Les Medes.
Information is also available from some marinas, the port of Barcelona or the regions of the Ebro delta, and he adds: “All this information is collected in the various regional delegations and does not give an idea of ​​what is happening.”
The state’s port network has buoys located relatively close to ports (usually within a few miles of the coast) and there are more offshore buoys.
Likewise, satellite instruments allow us to obtain information about the temperature at the sea surface in an extension, in addition, “they have models that allow us to see the evolution” and what the temperatures will be like.