After a somewhat cooler end of August in Spain, the scorching summer weather is returning in full force as September kicks off, with temperatures above 35C forecast for much of the country.
According to meteorologists, the mercury is set to rise significantly across the country this week with temperatures reaching 40C and above in southern and inland areas, with what many are saying could be the fifth heatwave of the year.
Spain’s State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) has forecast a scorching week ahead with temperatures around 10C above normal for this time of year, particularly from the middle of the week onwards.
The heat is set to gradually intensify as the week progresses, reaching very high temperatures in many provinces towards the middle and end of the week.
Aemet has not yet classified it as a heatwave given that the official criteria of duration (three days), expansion (how much of the country is affected) and threshold (top 5 percent highest temperatures for the time of year) are not currently expected to be met.
CALENTAMIENTO GLOBAL
Apocalipsis por calor
🇪🇸Septiembre arranca con un domo y temperaturas de hasta 43 ºC
-Tocará techo el jueves, con valores hasta 10 ºC por encima de lo habitualhttps://t.co/Vg2BuSBwEc pic.twitter.com/P91oqyxRu2
— Evelio González Prieto (@evelio_prieto) September 1, 2026
Tuesday September 1st will see temperatures begin to rise in the northern areas, while they may even decrease in the southern and eastern regions.
Wednesday is when most people across the county will feel the change with the mercury forecast to rise between 3C to 4C above normal, or even up to 6C to 8C in some areas.
Andalusia will unsurprisingly be one of the hottest places in the country, with up to 38C forecast in Córdoba, which has been issued with a yellow heat warning. It will also get up to around 37C in Seville, Granada, and Jaén.
Thursday is looking like it will be one of the hottest days of the week, with sweltering temperatures. Forecasts show that the hottest will be Badajoz, Córdoba, and Seville, with highs that could reach 43C.
READ ALSO: Why there are fears of more serious floods in Spain this autumn
The heat will also be very intense in Castilla-La Mancha. Ciudad Real and Toledo, which could reach 40C, while Albacete, Cuenca, and Guadalajara are forecast to be a sizzling 38C.
Granada and Jaén could also reach a scorching 40C, as could Cáceres.
It’s not just the south that will be affected though, Madrid could reach 38C, a very high temperature for this time of year, while Salamanca may also reach the same. Zaragoza, meanwhile, could register up to 39C and Teruel around 38C.
In the northeast, thermometers will also rise. Lleida and Logroño could both reach 38C.
The coolest areas of the country will be the northern Cantabria region, but even there, highs of 30C could be possible.
While in the Canary Islands, it will also be hot. Temperatures will range from 30C to 32C until the end of the week, when they could gradually rise to over 35C in areas of Gran Canaria.
READ ALSO: July was Spain’s hottest month on record
Enèssima onada de calor de 2026 a la vista i a ple setembre. Quin estiu!!
Tornarem als 40ºC a Catalunya ja el cap de setmana.
I la setmana vinent seguirem amb molta calor tot i que a mesura avanci la setmana anirà perdent pistonada progressivament. pic.twitter.com/0oNWBbx5Fm
— Elpito meteo (@MeteoElpito) September 1, 2026
The dreaded sweltering hot nights are also set to make a return this week in some places. Tropical nights with temperatures of over 20C are expected in Andalusia, Extremadura, Castilla-La Mancha, and Madrid, as well as along the Mediterranean coast and in the Ebro Valley.
From Friday onwards and throughout the weekend, tropical nights are expected to return to much of the country. Minimum temperatures of 20C are forecast almost everywhere with the exception of some areas in Castill y León, Galicia and some mountain ranges in the north.
Temperatures will only begin to drop again after the weekend.
This summer we’ve already experienced the hottest month on record, which was July. During that month, the average temperature of 25.7C was 2.6C higher than the 1991-2020 reference period, according to Aemet.
Spain has also registered the deadliest summer on record with 5,232 registered between May 16th and August 30th. Even without the new heatwave forecast for the beginning of September, numbers like this have never been seen before.
READ ALSO: Twelve Spanish tricks to sleep better during a heatwave
