The sweltering heat wave in which we are immersed since last August 3 is here to stay. Although initially the forecasts suggested that by Thursday at the latest the episode could be terminated, with the latest available data from the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) the headline is different: the heat wave is extended.
According to the latest special warning published by the agency at the time of writing this article – which can be consulted at this link – these unusually high temperatures will accompany us “probably until Monday, August 18”.
The persistence of a warm and dry air mass over much of the Peninsula and the Canary Islands, coupled with the high sunshine typical of summer, are the factors that are causing us to be experiencing higher temperatures than usual for this time of year.
Records that are already being set by the heat wave
This thermal anomaly is leaving data for the meteorological history of our country. Among them, that there is no precedent “of a period between August 1 and 20 as warm as that of 2025,” according to information published by the AEMET.
It is not the only record that temperatures are pulverizing these days: in Castelló-Almassora, for example, the night of August 11 broke an absolute record, being “the warmest recorded in any of the two historical locations of the provincial observatory. Data since 1911“.
On the other hand, three of the agency’s automatic stations reached or exceeded 45 ºC this Tuesday and 55 of them measured 42 ºC or more. In Lomo Pedro Alfonso (Gran Canaria), the “coldest” moment of the day did not drop below 31.7 ºC.
The hottest spot in the Community of Madrid
The Community of Madrid is also seeing remarkable figures, as last August 8 in the hottest point of the region, Arganda del Rey, 41.8 ºC was recorded, the second highest temperature in Spain that day only behind Candeleda (Ávila).
Extreme fire risk
To the heat wave must be added, in this fateful summer for our natural heritage, a wave of fires that is burning thousands of hectares throughout the country. In the Community of Madrid, we must also lament the death of Mircea, a 50-year-old man who tried to save several horses from the fire in Tres Cantos, as reported by El Paísand that of many animals who, like them, were unable to escape the flames.
The coldest spot in the Community of Madrid
At the opposite extreme, if we set course to the north of the region we find that the lowest -coolest- minimum temperature of the past early morning of August 12 was recorded in Rascafría, with a temperature of 15 ºC at five in the morning.