Don't put your umbrellas away just yet: this is when the rain will return to the south of Spain

The state meteorological agency Aemet says that it is still too early to make predictions about the weather for Easter week in April

Ignacio Lillo

Malaga

Thursday, 27 March 2025, 09:56

To commemorate World Meteorological Day, the director of Spain's state meteorological agency (Aemet) in Malaga, Jesús Riesco, has reassured local residents and holidaymakers that the few remaining days of March will be sunny and without a drop of rain, which will surely satisfy everybody in the province who has experienced the series of storms in the past month.

However, Riesco warned that the weather might, once again, be on the cloudy side in April. There are high chances that the beginning of next month will see rain, even though the upcoming episodes will not necessarily be as intense as the ones in March.

What concerns both Malaga's residents and tourists who have booked their holidays in April is what the weather will be like during Semana Santa, which starts on 13 April. According to Riesco, any predictions ahead of time will be untrustworthy, so it is too early to say what this year's Easter will be like.

After all, it is spring and this season can be unpredictable, as happened a few years ago when the weather underwent a drastic change on the Thursday before Good Friday, which hindered ceremonial processions. As Riesco put it, "we are in a context of great climatic variability and right now, to venture a forecast, would not be scientifically adequate".

Previously, there have been Holy Weeks with not a single drop of rain and others where five out of the eight days between the two Sundays (Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday) saw rainfall. Therefore, all that can be forecast is that, on average, there might be one to two days of rain during the Holy Week.

Climate change

According to Riesco, if seen as an isolated weather phenomena, the heavy rainfall that dominated Malaga province in March is less likely to be attributed to climate change, although the transition from drought to four consecutive storms in two weeks is quite unusual and, indeed, consistent with the abnormalities of global warming.

As Aemet's director stated, what happened in March will be more common in the future: less rainfall in the south of Spain throughout the year, but heavy downpours concentrated over a few days. Whether there will be more 'cold drops' - those episodes of heavy downpours, known in Spain as 'Danas' - is difficult to say.

Vindication of science

The sub-delegate of the government in Malaga, Javier Salas, joined Riesco at the celebration of the World Meteorological Day and used the opportunity to highlight the importance of trusting the right source - science.

"At a time when we continue to be increasingly threatened by climate change, the way to protect ourselves is science and not the hoaxes and misinformation that unfortunately inundate us through various channels," he said. Salas highlighted the role of Aemet, "an institution with almost 140 years of history", where science and study are the core principle.

The event also commemorates the 75th anniversary of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), which was celebrated on Sunday 23 March. The WMO is currently developing a pioneering project designed to ensure that, by the end of 2027, everyone on Earth will be protected from dangerous weather, water and climate events through life-saving early warning systems.

"Fortunately, in Spain and in Malaga we already have a similar warning system thanks to Aemet, which plays an essential role in monitoring the weather and perfecting the warning systems that serve to protect citizens and their property," said Salas.

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