Scorching April smashes almost all weather records in Malaga province and on the Costa del Sol

April has broken almost all temperature records as the province hit with extreme heat throughout the month.

The constant heat, which felt more like a prelude to summer than to spring, has led Spain's state weather agency Aemet to establish new records for the absolute maximum and the average and mean maximum temperatures in the province, according to the data provided by organisation's meteorological centre in Malaga.

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Malaga Airport breaks record for highest April temperature for second time this month

On two occasions the maximum temperature for the month of April was exceeded at Malaga-Costa del Sol Airport. This happened on 10 April when 33.7C was registered and last Saturday, 29 April, with 34.3 degrees recorded.

There was also a new historical record set - since data has been kept in 1943 - for the average maximum temperature and for the average temperature.

The average maximum was 24.7C, similar to the usual figure for start of summer, and the average temperature for April was 19 degrees. The average minimum temperature remained unchanged at 13.4 degrees. The data is still provisional and pending confirmation, although not many changes aree expected.

Across the province as a whole, it was the warmest month since 1961, when historical records for provinces began.

The average temperature in April was 18.5C, some 4.1 degrees above normal compared to the 1991-2020 return period, according to Jesús Riesco, director of the Malaga centre. "It was extremely hot, although in almost all Andalusian provinces it has been similar, with a historic month," he said. Rainfall was zero.

An anticyclonic ridge phenomenon, as well as masses of warm air from Africa, and terral winds contributed to the warm April. Forecasts remain the same for May, with weather experts predicting a drier than normal month ahead.