Mario Picazo: July Heat 5-8 Degrees Above Average in Spain

Mario Picazo and the 5-8 degrees: the summer some measure, others deny

On July 5, a meteorologist warned that many areas of Spain would record temperatures 5 to 8 degrees above average, noting this is "not normal" for the start of the month. Twenty-four hours later, participants reported going out at night in sweaters during midsummer. The climate debate plays out on two separate fronts: instrumental data versus personal experience. When they contradict, the discussion shifts from temperature to intent.

What Mario Picazo exactly said about July heat

The message attributed to meteorologist Mario Picazo stated that midday heat on July 5 would be well above average across large parts of the country, warning that the habit of considering 40 degrees normal in early July distorts collective perception. Responses were polarized: some saw proof of climate propaganda, others confirmation that extreme heat is now routine.

The coincidence was paradoxical: everyone looked out the window.

A country divided by the thermometer: 18 degrees in Galicia and 37 in two stations

Testimonies draw an impossible map. Maximum 18 degrees at noon on the Galician coast, with dew on roofs and goosebumps. 23 degrees at 13:30 in Salamanca in mid-July, with nights under covers and pools only if the wind doesn't blow. Southern beaches where people wrap themselves in towels in mid-July. Cool nights north of Madrid, with windows open and no air conditioning. And at the other extreme, 37 degrees at one specific point, where the battle is fought.

Some claim these extreme temperatures occurred in exactly two stations, with a third remaining below 37. It is alleged that official records include corrections that inflate results. This is an unverified accusation, but it explains why the conversation has become so heated. Both the sweater and the extreme heat warning were true in different places.

Normal is not the same as habitual

Climatology works with decades of averages; meteorology deals with what will happen this afternoon. Hence the misunderstanding: a temperature can be statistically anomalous yet perfectly bearable. One participant claimed to have heard publicly that a value is "normal" and "extraordinary" simultaneously, two words in Spanish that almost exclude each other.

The result is language that loses meaning for citizens. If everything is anomalous, nothing is. Permanent alerts compete with direct experience of a cool night, where the official narrative is losing ground.

The offensive against satellites and Copernicus

According to data from Copernicus, 2024 recorded the hottest June in history, with ocean temperatures reaching new highs. The rejection was frontal. Some question whether a satellite measuring air thousands of kilometers away can replace surface thermometers, accusing the European program of fueling a narrative useful for justifying tax hikes and new restrictions.

Others point higher: the problem is not the isolated data, but the narrative surrounding it. A cool June becomes a statistical exception, and a 30-degree day becomes a heatwave.

What does the law say about working under the midday sun?

Here the debate shifts from perception to the Official State Gazette (BOE). A participant cites Royal Decree 1561/1995 on special working hours, which limits shifts in tasks requiring extraordinary physical effort or performed under abnormal temperature or humidity conditions: six hours and twenty minutes daily and 38 weekly maximum. In agriculture, activity is suspended after 12:00 on the hottest days.

Those supporting alerts argue that without this framework, sun exposure becomes a measurable occupational risk, and those working eight hours outdoors do not need to be told what heat is. Those opposing them argue that statistics are being used as a political tool.

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The uncomfortable question remains. If summer is milder in large parts of the country, why does public discourse only accept one script? And conversely: if averages exceed what is normal, why do several participants still go out in sweaters?