Rahul Somvanshi
Summer did not leave Spain quietly this year.
On September 3, 2026, Spain’s national meteorological agency AEMET recorded 45.7°C at El Granado, a municipality in the Huelva province of Andalusia, in the country’s southwest. That same day, 45.1°C was recorded at Sevilla-Tablada, and Fuentes de Andalucía hit 44.7°C.
The 45.7°C reading at El Granado matches Spain’s highest September temperature on record. The previous matching figure was recorded in Montoro, Córdoba province, on September 6, 2016. AEMET’s September 3 station data confirm the 45.7°C observation; the record comparison was reported from AEMET’s own statement.
This did not arrive without warning. AEMET had already noted that the period from January to August 2026 was the warmest eight-month stretch in recorded Spanish history. The country entered September having just come through its hottest start to a year on record.
AEMET attributed the episode to a mass of hot, dry air entering Spain under the combined influence of low pressure southwest of the peninsula and high pressure over North Africa and the Alboran Sea.
For residents and travellers in the affected areas, 45.7°C is not an abstract number. At such temperatures, prolonged outdoor exposure can create a serious risk of heat-related illness, particularly for vulnerable people and those working outdoors. Agricultural crops and livestock face severe stress.
September is technically autumn in Europe. Most people associate that time of year with cooling temperatures and shorter days. The September 3 observations included temperatures above 45°C at two AEMET stations in southern Spain.
The heat is also part of a broader pattern. The September observation came after AEMET reported that January-August 2026 was the warmest such period on record for mainland Spain. Extreme heat events have been documented across multiple continents in 2026 — the US heat wave that broke temperature records earlier this year showed similar dynamics, with prolonged high-pressure systems trapping heat across large regions.
For now, AEMET’s station data stands as the clearest record of what September 3, 2026 was like in southern Spain: exceptionally, historically hot.
