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Ignacio Lillo
Malaga
Tuesday, 11 July 2023
If it has not been hot enough in the province since the start of the week, it's about to get even hotter as the 'terral' wind sweeps across Malaga on Wednesday 12 July, bringing with it the hottest day of the year.
Malaga city, the Guadalhorce valley and parts of the Costa del Sol such as Vélez, and Estepona are expected to experience the most intense heat.
Breaking news
State weather agency Aemet has already activated an amber level warning along the Malaga coast where temperatures could reach 40 degrees. It may exceed 42C in the upper Guadalhorce Valley, and in municipalities such as Coín, Álora or Pizarra. The director of the Malaga meteorological centre, Jesús Riesco, said that the same warning may also be issued for the Axarquia.
It poses the question; could the maximum temperature record for the month of July be broken?
As far as maximum temperatures are concerned, Riesco ruled out the possibility of reaching the highest in history, which was set on 18 July 1978, when 44.2C was registered at Malaga Airport.
José Luis Escudero, head of the SUR weather blog, Tormentas y Rayos (storms and lightning), pointed out that Wednesday will be "the worst day" of the heatwave, set to also affect all of Andalucía.
According to the American and European weather models, up to 44 degrees are expected inland in the Guadalhorce valley; but it is not certain that it will reach 40 degrees in Malaga city. "It will be difficult for it to happen, but it will depend on how the terral blows," he said.
Warmer than tropical nights
Escudero warned that night-time minimum temperatures could be "so high that they could break records". The mass of African air that is reaching the province is already creating temperatures well above what is considered a "tropical night".
It has hardly dropped below 25 degrees at dawn this week - 24.4C on Monday 10 July and and 25.5 degrees at the airport this Tuesday 11 July.
"If it is already like this, we could beat the record for the highest minimum in the month of July when the terral arrives," Escudero said. The record right now is: 13 July 1949 and 16 July 1962, both dates registered 28.8 degrees.
However, the director of Aemet said that the probability of this occurring is "very low". The highest minimum in history was on 3 August 1949, with 29.4C registered.
Warm air from the west will drastically reduce the humidity, which today is at 80%. On Thursday there will be an influx of easterly air, which will reduce the orange warning level to yellow on the coast, according to Riesco. "The period of the terral will probably be shortened," he added.
Aemet has forcest Friday to be 30 degrees, with extreme heat returning on the weekend. On Saturday and Sunday it will be 35 and 36 degrees along the coast, and 39 inland.
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