ClimavisoAugust 2020 heatwave: heat and rain across much of Spain, 6–12 August 2020
6 August 2020 to 12 August 2020. Updated 26 October 2026.
AEMET records a heatwave from 5 August to 10 August 2020.
Over 7 days, 61 of Spain's 182 warning zones had an orange or red warning for heat and rain: 108 zone-days at orange or red, 0 of them red. The day with the most zones at orange or red was 7 August, with 28 zones.
9 August was the day with the most people in zones under an orange or red warning: 13.5 million people live there (INE municipal register, 2025).
How it compares
- It is number 32 of 119 episodes since June 2018 by zone-days at orange or red.
- Among the 37 heat episodes, it is number 22.
Day by day
| Day | Red | Orange | Yellow | Orange or red warnings for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thu 6 August | — | 15 | 77 | heat |
| Fri 7 August | — | 28 | 67 | heat |
| Sat 8 August | — | 14 | 94 | heat |
| Sun 9 August | — | 16 | 94 | heat |
| Mon 10 August | — | 1 | 56 | heat |
| Tue 11 August | — | 24 | 71 | storms, rain |
| Wed 12 August | — | 10 | 59 | rain, storms |
Zones with a warning each day, at their highest level that day.
The zones
And 91 more zones with yellow warnings only.
What AEMET's stations measured
The most measured in the zones with an orange or red warning, on their warning days: 77.6 l/m² of rain in 24 h at Taramundi, Ouria (Suroccidental asturiana) on 12 August; a high of 43.1 °C at Andújar (Morena y Condado) on 8 August.
| Zone | Most rain in 24 h | Highest temperature |
|---|---|---|
| Suroccidental asturiana | 77.6 l/m² Taramundi, Ouria · 12 August | 35.6 °C Ibias, San Antolin · 6 August |
| Litoral occidental asturiano | 68.1 l/m² Castropol · 12 August | 22.6 °C Castropol · 11 August |
| Campiña cordobesa | 57.6 l/m² Córdoba Aeropuerto · 11 August | 42.8 °C Montoro · 6 August |
| Serranía de Cuenca | 54.2 l/m² Abia de Obispalia · 11 August | 37.9 °C Cuenca · 7 August |
| A Mariña | 53.6 l/m² Ribadeo · 12 August | 19.7 °C Ribadeo · 12 August |
| Litoral oriental asturiano | 49.5 l/m² Gijón, Puerto · 11 August | 25.2 °C Gijón, Campus · 11 August |
| Subbética cordobesa | 41.4 l/m² Aguilar de la Frontera · 11 August | 40.4 °C Aguilar de la Frontera · 8 August |
| La Mancha conquense | 38.4 l/m² Villares del Saz · 11 August | 40.0 °C Osa de la Vega · 7 August |
| Prelitoral sur de Tarragona | 35.0 l/m² Alforja · 12 August | 36.5 °C Estación de Tortosa (roquetes) · 9 August |
| Montes de Toledo | 34.6 l/m² Navahermosa · 11 August | 39.8 °C Navahermosa · 6 August |
| Metropolitana y Henares | 33.8 l/m² Pozuelo de Alarcón · 11 August | 39.6 °C Alcala de Henares · 7 August |
| Valle del Guadiana | 32.8 l/m² Abenójar · 11 August | 40.6 °C Puertollano · 7 August |
| Montes del norte y Anchuras | 32.4 l/m² El Robledo · 11 August | 40.9 °C El Robledo · 7 August |
| Sierra de Madrid | 32.4 l/m² Rascafría · 11 August | 37.3 °C Valdemorillo · 7 August |
| Ribera del Ebro de La Rioja | 29.4 l/m² Cenicero · 7 August | 38.3 °C Logroño, Aeropuerto · 7 August |
| Villuercas y Montánchez | 27.4 l/m² Puerto Rey · 11 August | 40.1 °C Zorita · 6 August |
| Alcarria de Guadalajara | 27.0 l/m² Zaorejas · 11 August | 38.6 °C Guadalajara · 7 August |
| Ibérica zaragozana | 25.8 l/m² La Almunia de Doña Godina · 8 August | 40.7 °C Calatayud · 8 August |
| Montaña de Lugo | 24.8 l/m² Cervantes · 11 August | 28.9 °C Folgoso Do Courel · 11 August |
| Central y Valles Mineros | 23.6 l/m² Salas, Camuño · 12 August | 23.8 °C Mieres, Baiña · 11 August |
And 40 more zones with an orange or red warning.
For each zone, the highest value its AEMET stations measured on the episode's warning days (the lowest, for the low temperature), with the station and the day. Rain from 07:00 to 07:00 UTC; gust: the day's strongest. It is what the zone's stations measured, not every town, and a measurement, like a warning, is not damage.
How AEMET's warnings unfolded
The orange warning reached 108 zone-days. AEMET issued it ahead of time in 91 of them (median: 2 days) and for the current hour in the other 17: warnings are also raised as things unfold. The first warning of any level for those same days had come a median 12 h earlier.
| Zone | Day | First warning | Orange issued | For · notice |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Campiña cordobesa | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 orange | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 | 12:00 · 60 h before |
| La Siberia extremeña | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 orange | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 | 14:00 · 62 h before |
| Norte de Cáceres | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 orange | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 | 14:00 · 62 h before |
| Tajo y Alagón | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 orange | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 | 14:00 · 62 h before |
| Vegas del Guadiana | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 orange | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 | 14:00 · 62 h before |
| Villuercas y Montánchez | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 orange | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 | 14:00 · 62 h before |
| Miño de Ourense | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 yellow | Tue 4 Aug, 11:31 | 14:00 · 50 h before |
| Valle del Tajo | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 yellow | Tue 4 Aug, 11:31 | 14:00 · 50 h before |
| Campiña sevillana | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 yellow | Tue 4 Aug, 22:54 | 12:00 · 37 h before |
| Sur de Lugo | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 yellow | Tue 4 Aug, 22:54 | 14:00 · 39 h before |
| Sur de Ávila | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 yellow | Tue 4 Aug, 22:54 | 14:00 · 39 h before |
| Valle del Guadalquivir de Jaén | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 yellow | Tue 4 Aug, 22:54 | 12:00 · 37 h before |
| Meseta de Zamora | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 yellow | Wed 5 Aug, 10:08 | 14:00 · 28 h before |
| Morena y Condado | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 yellow | Wed 5 Aug, 10:42 | 12:00 · 25 h before |
| Bizkaia interior | Thu 6 | Mon 3 Aug, 23:50 yellow | Wed 5 Aug, 10:51 | 14:00 · 27 h before |
And 93 more zone-days.
The full timeline: 151 changes at orange or red
Only the changes involving red are listed: there were 151 in all.
AEMET's issue times, in mainland Spain time (Canary Islands in island time). Notice is the time from issue to the first hour the warning covered; a warning issued “for the current hour” runs from the hour it is published.
What this says and what it doesn't
A warning is an AEMET forecast, not a measurement or a damage report: it says a threshold is expected to be exceeded in a zone. A warning is not damage; a zone is not a building.
A zone-day is one warning zone with a warning on one day. Ten zones at orange on the same day make ten zone-days. A day with several warnings in one zone counts once, at its highest level.
Each zone has its own thresholds, so an orange heat warning in Asturias doesn't mean the same temperature as in Córdoba. More in how warnings work.
To cite: “Climaviso, from AEMET warnings”.
Source: official AEMET warnings, collected by Climaviso since June 2018.
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