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Date Published: 18/12/2024

Alicante bakes through the hottest and driest year on record

So far, 2024 is the third warmest year in Spain’s recorded history

On a global scale, 2024 is right on track to become the hottest year on record and the first to exceed the 1.5°C barrier above pre-industrial level.

In the south of Spain, with just two weeks left until the end of the year, temperatures have plummeted in Alicante, falling to a chilly average of just 12.1ºC.

But even so, as 2024 draws to a close, the Costa Blanca finds itself in the midst of a historic milestone - logging its hottest and one of its driest years on record.

Anyone who boiled through the summer months can testify that it’s certainly been a year of unrelenting heat in Alicante. From January’s second-warmest start since 1956 to a summer where July and August soared to near-record highs, the province consistently ranked its monthly temperatures among the top 10 warmest ever recorded.

However, unlike the other three regions that are on track to record 2024 as their hottest year - Valencia, Albacete and San Javier in Murcia - Alicante has not surpassed its all-time temperature record in any one month. Rather, it’s remained consistently hot throughout the year.

Even the traditionally cooler months such as November saw exceptional warmth, claiming the title of the second-warmest November in Alicante's history. With just weeks left in December, the year is poised to be the hottest in the region’s recorded history.

Tropical nights and lingering heat

One stark indicator of Alicante's changing climate is the rising number of tropical nights when temperatures don’t drop below 20°C.

In 2024, nearly 100 tropical nights were recorded, compared to just 19 back in 1938, when the weather was much less extreme. These balmy evenings have become emblematic of Alicante’s new normal, reflecting a broader trend of night-time warming.

Lack of rain

High temperatures have been compounded by a troubling decline in rainfall. The 2023-2024 hydrological year ended as the second driest on record, with a rainfall deficit of 46% across the Valencian Community, even with the DANA floods in October.

Alicante received just 105.1 litres per square metre of rain, echoing the concerning patterns observed a decade ago.

While Alicante has led Spain in temperature extremes, other regions like A Coruña, Barcelona and Tenerife have also experienced near-record heat. Nationwide, 2024 is the third warmest year in Spain’s recorded history.

And although temperatures this week are around a degree below average, it’s still been a very mild December. The mercury hovered at 16.7ºC during the first few days of the month, 3.5ºC higher than usual.

Find all the latest weather and climate change news here or join our Alicante Weather Watch Facebook group for regular updates

Image: Zarateman via Wikimedia Commons

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