August 2023 heatwave: heat across much of Spain, 6–13 August 2023

6 August 2023 to 13 August 2023. Updated 26 October 2026.

AEMET records a heatwave from 6 August to 13 August 2023.

Over 8 days, 120 of Spain's 182 warning zones had an orange or red warning for heat: 285 zone-days at orange or red, 45 of them red. The day with the most zones at orange or red was 9 August, with 82 zones.

10 August was the day with the most people in zones under an orange or red warning: 21.4 million people live there (INE municipal register, 2025).

RedOrangeYellowNo warningEach zone at the highest warning it had during the episode. Grey: no warning on those days.

True-colour satellite image of the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands on 9 August 2023 — Spain from space on 9 August 2023, the day with the most zones at orange or red. Image: NASA Worldview.

How it compares

It is number 9 of 119 episodes since June 2018 by zone-days at orange or red.
Among the 37 heat episodes, it is number 7.
There hadn't been a heat episode this widespread since July 2022.

Day by day

Day	Red	Orange	Yellow	Orange or red warnings for
Sun 6 August	—	12	29	heat
Mon 7 August	—	21	20	heat
Tue 8 August	1	39	38	heat
Wed 9 August	12	70	31	heat
Thu 10 August	8	46	35	heat
Fri 11 August	13	32	48	heat
Sat 12 August	9	9	54	heat
Sun 13 August	2	11	28	heat

Zones with a warning each day, at their highest level that day.

The zones

Zone	Province	Highest level	Warning days
Campiña cordobesa	Córdoba	red	8
Valle del Guadalquivir de Jaén	Jaén	red	8
Campiña sevillana	Sevilla	red	8
Morena y Condado	Jaén	red	8
Andévalo y Condado	Huelva	red	6
Cuenca del Genil	Granada	red	8
Metropolitana y Henares	Madrid	red	8
Sur, Vegas y Oeste	Madrid	red	8
Litoral de Huelva	Huelva	red	6
Serranía de Cuenca	Cuenca	red	6
Cumbres de Gran Canaria	Gran Canaria	red	4
Este, sur y oeste de Gran Canaria	Gran Canaria	red	4
La Mancha conquense	Cuenca	red	6
Cumbres de La Palma	La Palma	red	4
Este, sur y oeste de Tenerife	Tenerife	red	4
Fuerteventura	Fuerteventura	red	4
Hellín y Almansa	Albacete	red	4
La Gomera	La Gomera	red	4
Lanzarote	Lanzarote	red	4
Oeste de La Palma	La Palma	red	4
Área metropolitana de Tenerife	Tenerife	red	4
Altiplano de Murcia	Murcia	red	2
Interior sur de Valencia	València/Valencia	red	2
Norte de Burgos	Burgos	red	2
Vega del Segura	Murcia	red	2
Bizkaia interior	Bizkaia	red	1
Cuenca del Nervión	Araba/Álava	red	1
Gipuzkoa interior	Gipuzkoa	red	1
Interior sur de Castellón	Castelló/Castellón	red	1
Litoral norte de Valencia	València/Valencia	red	1
Litoral sur de Alicante	Alacant/Alicante	red	1
Litoral sur de Valencia	València/Valencia	red	1
Cazorla y Segura	Jaén	orange	8
Aracena	Huelva	orange	7
Capital y Montes de Jaén	Jaén	orange	7
La Siberia extremeña	Badajoz	orange	7
Sierra y Pedroches	Córdoba	orange	7
Valle del Guadiana	Ciudad Real	orange	7
Vegas del Guadiana	Badajoz	orange	7
Villuercas y Montánchez	Cáceres	orange	7
Subbética cordobesa	Córdoba	orange	8
Valle del Tajo	Toledo	orange	8
Barros y Serena	Badajoz	orange	7
Campiña gaditana	Cádiz	orange	7
Sierra norte de Sevilla	Sevilla	orange	7
Sierras de Alcudia y Madrona	Ciudad Real	orange	7
Tajo y Alagón	Cáceres	orange	7
Guadix y Baza	Granada	orange	5
La Mancha albaceteña	Albacete	orange	8
La Mancha de Ciudad Real	Ciudad Real	orange	7
Alcaraz y Segura	Albacete	orange	6
Sierra de Madrid	Madrid	orange	6
Sierra sur de Sevilla	Sevilla	orange	6
Sur de Badajoz	Badajoz	orange	6
Meseta cacereña	Cáceres	orange	5
Antequera	Málaga	orange	4
El Hierro	El Hierro	orange	4
Ronda	Málaga	orange	4
Norte de Gran Canaria	Gran Canaria	orange	3
Montes de Toledo	Toledo	orange	7
Montes del norte y Anchuras	Ciudad Real	orange	7
Norte de Cáceres	Cáceres	orange	7
Sierra de San Vicente	Toledo	orange	7
Sur de Salamanca	Salamanca	orange	7
Sur de Ávila	Ávila	orange	7
Grazalema	Cádiz	orange	6
Bajo Aragón de Teruel	Teruel	orange	5
La Mancha toledana	Toledo	orange	5
Ribera del Ebro de Zaragoza	Zaragoza	orange	5
Serranía de Guadalajara	Guadalajara	orange	5
Sur de Huesca	Huesca	orange	4
Este de La Palma	La Palma	orange	3
Meseta de Valladolid	Valladolid	orange	3
Meseta de Zamora	Zamora	orange	3
Norte de Tenerife	Tenerife	orange	3
Ribera del Ebro de La Rioja	La Rioja	orange	3
Alcarria conquense	Cuenca	orange	6
Alcarria de Guadalajara	Guadalajara	orange	6
Cinco Villas de Zaragoza	Zaragoza	orange	5
Depresión central de Lleida	Lleida	orange	5
Parameras de Molina	Guadalajara	orange	5
Albarracín y Jiloca	Teruel	orange	4
Centro de Huesca	Huesca	orange	4
Ibérica zaragozana	Zaragoza	orange	4
Pirineo de Lleida	Lleida	orange	4
Sistema Central de Salamanca	Salamanca	orange	4
Sistema Central de Soria	Soria	orange	4
Centro de Navarra	Navarra	orange	3
Ibérica de Burgos	Burgos	orange	3
Ibérica de Soria	Soria	orange	3
Interior norte de Valencia	València/Valencia	orange	3
Meseta de Salamanca	Salamanca	orange	3
Miño de Ourense	Ourense	orange	3
Ribera del Ebro de Navarra	Navarra	orange	3
Sistema Central de Segovia	Segovia	orange	3
Sistema Central de Ávila	Ávila	orange	3
Bierzo de León	León	orange	2
Ibérica riojana	La Rioja	orange	2
Meseta de Burgos	Burgos	orange	2
Meseta de León	León	orange	2
Meseta de Palencia	Palencia	orange	2
Meseta de Segovia	Segovia	orange	2
Meseta de Soria	Soria	orange	2
Meseta de Ávila	Ávila	orange	2
Noroeste de Murcia	Murcia	orange	2
Pirineo navarro	Navarra	orange	2
Prelitoral sur de Tarragona	Tarragona	orange	2
Rioja alavesa	Araba/Álava	orange	2
Valle del Almanzora y Los Vélez	Almería	orange	2
Valle del Guadalentín, Lorca y Águilas	Murcia	orange	2
Cantabria del Ebro	Cantabria	orange	1
Centro y valle de Villaverde	Cantabria	orange	1
Condado de Treviño	Burgos	orange	1
Cordillera Cantábrica de Burgos	Burgos	orange	1
Depresión central de Tarragona	Tarragona	orange	1
Interior de Alicante	Alacant/Alicante	orange	1
Litoral norte de Alicante	Alacant/Alicante	orange	1
Liébana	Cantabria	orange	1
Llanada alavesa	Araba/Álava	orange	1
Suroccidental asturiana	Asturias	orange	1

And 36 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: a high of 46.8 °C at Valencia Aeropuerto (Litoral norte de Valencia) on 10 August.

Zone	Highest temperature
Litoral norte de Valencia	46.8 °C Valencia Aeropuerto · 10 August
Litoral sur de Valencia	46.4 °C Carcaixent · 10 August
El Hierro	46.2 °C Tacoron-Lapillas-Tortuga · 12 August
Este, sur y oeste de Gran Canaria	45.8 °C La Aldea de San Nicolás, Tasarte · 12 August
Interior sur de Valencia	45.4 °C Ontinyent · 10 August
Campiña cordobesa	45.3 °C Montoro · 11 August
Sierra sur de Sevilla	45.3 °C La Roda de Andalucía · 11 August
Campiña sevillana	45.2 °C Carrión de los Céspedes · 11 August
Vegas del Guadiana	44.8 °C Badajoz · 7 August
Morena y Condado	44.7 °C Andújar · 11 August
Andévalo y Condado	44.5 °C Villarrasa · 11 August
Interior sur de Castellón	44.4 °C Atzeneta del Maestrat · 10 August
Cuenca del Genil	44.3 °C Granada Aeropuerto · 9 August
Interior de Alicante	44.3 °C Villena · 10 August
Noroeste de Murcia	44.3 °C Calasparra · 10 August
Altiplano de Murcia	44.2 °C Jumilla · 10 August
Vega del Segura	44.2 °C Archena · 10 August
Barros y Serena	44.0 °C Barcarrota · 7 August
Litoral norte de Alicante	43.9 °C Pego · 10 August
Área metropolitana de Tenerife	43.9 °C San Cristóbal de la Laguna,llano de los Loros · 13 August

And 100 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 red warning reached 45 zone-days. AEMET issued it ahead of time in 40 of them (median: 26 h) and for the current hour in the other 5: warnings are also raised as things unfold. The first warning of any level for those same days had come a median 36 h earlier.

Zone	Day	First warning	Red issued	For · notice
Campiña cordobesa	Tue 8	Sat 5 Aug, 23:50 orange	09:49	13:00 · 3 h before
Metropolitana y Henares	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Mon 7 Aug, 11:32	13:00 · 49 h before
Morena y Condado	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Mon 7 Aug, 11:32	12:00 · 48 h before
Sur, Vegas y Oeste	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Mon 7 Aug, 11:32	13:00 · 49 h before
Valle del Guadalquivir de Jaén	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Mon 7 Aug, 11:32	12:00 · 48 h before
La Mancha conquense	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Mon 7 Aug, 22:55	13:00 · 38 h before
Serranía de Cuenca	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Mon 7 Aug, 22:55	13:00 · 38 h before
Norte de Burgos	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Tue 8 Aug, 10:38	13:00 · 26 h before
Bizkaia interior	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Tue 8 Aug, 10:41	13:00 · 26 h before
Gipuzkoa interior	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Tue 8 Aug, 10:41	13:00 · 26 h before
Campiña cordobesa	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Tue 8 Aug, 10:54	13:00 · 26 h before
Cuenca del Genil	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Tue 8 Aug, 11:01	12:00 · 25 h before
Cuenca del Nervión	Wed 9	Sun 6 Aug, 23:50 orange	Tue 8 Aug, 12:31	13:00 · 24 h before
Litoral sur de Valencia	Thu 10	Mon 7 Aug, 23:50 orange	Tue 8 Aug, 23:00	13:00 · 38 h before
Hellín y Almansa	Thu 10	Mon 7 Aug, 23:50 orange	Wed 9 Aug, 10:37	13:00 · 26 h before

And 30 more zone-days.

The full timeline: 342 changes at orange or red

Only the changes involving red are listed: there were 342 in all.

Mon 7 August

11:32 Metropolitana y Henares: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 42 °C.
11:32 Morena y Condado, Valle del Guadalquivir de Jaén: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 12:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
11:32 Sur, Vegas y Oeste: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 43 °C.
22:55 La Mancha conquense: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 42 °C.
22:55 Serranía de Cuenca: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 40 °C.

Tue 8 August

09:49 Campiña cordobesa: Raises the heat warning to red: Tuesday 8, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
10:38 Norte de Burgos: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 42 °C.
10:41 Bizkaia interior, Gipuzkoa interior: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 40 °C.
10:54 Campiña cordobesa: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
11:01 Cuenca del Genil: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 12:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
12:31 Cuenca del Nervión: Raises the heat warning to red: Wednesday 9, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 42 °C.
22:06 Campiña cordobesa: Lowers the heat warning to orange: Wednesday 9, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 42 °C.
23:00 Litoral sur de Valencia: Raises the heat warning to red: Thursday 10, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 43 °C.

Wed 9 August

10:37 Hellín y Almansa: Raises the heat warning to red: Thursday 10, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 42 °C.
10:47 Vega del Segura: Raises the heat warning to red: Thursday 10, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
11:21 Interior sur de Valencia: Raises the heat warning to red: Thursday 10, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
11:29 Cumbres de Gran Canaria, Este, sur y oeste de Gran Canaria: Issues a red heat warning: Friday 11, 12:00–21:00. Highs of 40 °C.
22:08 Litoral sur de Alicante: Raises the heat warning to red: Thursday 10, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 42 °C.
23:50 Cumbres de Gran Canaria, Este, sur y oeste de Gran Canaria: Issues a red heat warning: Saturday 12, 12:00–21:00. Highs of 40 °C.

Thu 10 August

09:40 Altiplano de Murcia: Raises the heat warning to red: Thursday 10, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
11:25 Campiña cordobesa, Campiña sevillana: Raises the heat warning to red: Friday 11, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
15:16 Litoral norte de Valencia: Raises the heat warning to red: Thursday 10, 16:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
15:53 Interior sur de Castellón: Raises the heat warning to red: Thursday 10, 16:00–21:00. Highs of 43 °C.
22:18 Andévalo y Condado: Raises the heat warning to red: Friday 11, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 44 °C.
22:18 Litoral de Huelva: Raises the heat warning to red: Friday 11, 13:00–21:00. Highs of 42 °C.
23:50 Cumbres de Gran Canaria, Este, sur y oeste de Gran Canaria: Issues a red heat warning: Sunday 13, 12:00–21:00. Highs of 40 °C.

Fri 11 August

11:09 Cumbres de La Palma, Fuerteventura, Lanzarote, Oeste de La Palma: Raises the heat warning to red: Friday 11, 12:00–21:00. Highs of 40 °C.
14:45 Este, sur y oeste de Tenerife, La Gomera, Área metropolitana de Tenerife: Raises the heat warning to red: Friday 11, 15:00–21:00. Highs of 40 °C.
19:58 Cumbres de La Palma, Este, sur y oeste de Tenerife, Fuerteventura, La Gomera, Lanzarote: Raises the heat warning to red: Saturday 12, 12:00–21:00. Highs of 40 °C.
19:58 Oeste de La Palma: Raises the heat warning to red: Saturday 12, 12:00–21:00. Highs of 42 °C.

Sat 12 August

11:25 Área metropolitana de Tenerife: Raises the heat warning to red: Saturday 12, 12:00–21:00. Highs of 40 °C.

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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