Climate balance for June

Despite the rainfall recorded, at the end of June Spain continued to be in a situation of long-term meteorological drought.

The month was warm, especially in the extreme north of the peninsula. It was the ninth warmest June of the 21st century and also of the historical series.

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Second wettest month

The State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), which reports to the Ministry for Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge (MITECO), has published its climate balance for the month of June 2023, which it highlights that the month was clearly wetter than normal and also warmer.

RAINFALL

June was a very wet month in terms of precipitation, with an average precipitation value over peninsular Spain of 67.2 mm, which represents 210% of the normal value for the month (reference period: 1991-2020). This was the fourth wettest June since the beginning of the series in 1961, after 1988, 1992 and 2010, and was, therefore, the second wettest of the 21st century. In the Canary Islands, it was the wettest June since 1961, mainly as a result of the passage of tropical storm Oscar.

June was between wet and very wet throughout the territory, becoming extremely wet in parts of the interior of the peninsula and the Canary Islands. It was dry only in a narrow strip of the Catalan coast and isolated points of the Balearic Islands.

The highest daily rainfall recorded at main observatories corresponded to Hondarribia/Malkarroa which recorded 55.7 mm on the 21st; Lugo/Aeropuerto with 55.6 mm on the 12th; Teruel which recorded 52.2 mm on the 3rd; Cáceres with 49 mm recorded on the 8th, which is the highest value in its series; Gijón which recorded 47.6 mm on the 13th and Santiago de Compostela/Aeropuerto with 44.7 mm on the 3rd. In terms of total precipitation for the month, among the main stations, the 178.4 mm in Soria, the 174.4 mm accumulated in Lugo/airport and the 156.6 mm in Teruel stand out. In all three cases, this was the wettest June in the series.

Despite the rainfall recorded throughout the month of June, peninsular Spain as a whole remained in a situation of long-term meteorological drought at the end of the month. The southwest and northeast of the peninsula were the most affected areas. Long-term drought refers to the scarcity of precipitation recorded during the three years prior to the last month and began in December 2022.

TEMPERATURES

June was warm overall, with an average temperature over mainland Spain of 21.1 °C, which is 1.0 °C above the average for this month (reference period: 1991-2020). This was the ninth warmest June since the beginning of the series in 1961, and also the ninth warmest of the 21st century. The eleven warmest June months in the series belong to the 21st century.

June was extremely warm in coastal areas of Galicia and the Cantabrian Sea, very warm in the rest of the northwest peninsular, in the southwest and in the Mediterranean coastal areas, while it was warm or normal in the rest of peninsular Spain. In the Balearic Islands, it was very warm, while in the Canary Islands, it was very variable, being very warm or extremely warm in low areas, and warm or normal in higher altitude areas.

The highest temperatures were observed in the warm episode at the end of the month, with 43.7 °C at Morón de la Frontera, 42.6 °C at Córdoba/airport, 42.1 °C at Jerez de la Frontera/airport and 42.0 °C at Sevilla/airport, all measured on the 26th. At the Tenerife/Los Rodeos main station, the highest temperature for the month of June since the beginning of the series was recorded on the 28th.

As for the minimum temperatures, among the main stations, the 4.8 °C of Izaña recorded on day 1, the 5.5 °C of Puerto de Navacerrada on day 2, the 7.6 °C of León on day 30, and the 7.7 °C of Valladolid/airport measured on day 2 stood out among the main stations.

Important NOTES:

Since January 2023, the climatological production of AEMET has started to use the Standard Climatological Normals for the period 1991-2020, elaborated in the Climatology and Operational Applications Area of AEMET, in accordance with the guidelines set by the WMO in its Resolution 16 (Cg-17).

In September 2020, the reference values for climate monitoring in Spain were changed to the average values for the Spanish peninsular territory of the monthly and annual temperature and precipitation grids described in AEMET technical notes 31 and 32 (reference period: 1981-2010). This change in methodology may lead to significant differences with the results obtained from the reference values previously used.

A climate preview has been used to prepare this press release, the data of which are provisional and subject to further validation.

AEMET: The use of the information and its reproduction is authorised, citing AEMET as the author of the information.