Valencia hits record 46.8°C, beating previous high by 3.4°

Valencia breaks heat record with 46.8°C, but locals doubt the data

On Thursday, the fourth day of the heatwave, thermometers at Valencia airport’s runway hit 46.8°C. This is the observatory’s highest reading since 1966, exceeding the previous record of 43.3°C from July 6, 1986, by 3.4°. Aemet (Spain’s meteorological agency) acknowledges that breaking such extremes by this margin is unusual, though climate change is making it more frequent: in spring, Córdoba had already smashed its April record by over 4°. One commenter, claiming to be from Valencia, stated that when he stepped onto his balcony at 13:30, it wasn’t even 35°C.

The official figures for the day: 46.8°, 45.4°, and 44.7°

After the airport, Xàtiva and Llíria each recorded 45.4°C, while the city of Valencia reached 44.7°C, also surpassing its previous record of 43°C. Extreme risk persisted inland and along the southern coast of Valencia, reaching up to 44°C, as well as in Albacete (Hellín and Almansa at 42°C) and Murcia’s Segura Valley (44°C). The Canary Islands entered the heatwave with a red alert in southern Gran Canaria: temperatures up to 40°C and nights where some areas didn’t drop below 30°C. According to Aemet, temperatures will fall soon but remain clearly above normal until at least the 19th.

Why measure temperature at the airport?

For consistency, according to one forum participant: all major cities have an airport nearby, and their site conditions are more comparable than those of a town square or football field, making historical series easier to compare. The sensor isn’t just placed on asphalt; typically, it sits in a covered, well-ventilated brick hut, not right next to the runway.

However, some argue that the methodology changed and measurements are now taken just inches above the concrete, that an open-air observatory facing the Levante wind doesn’t represent the whole city, and that workers near the runway saw 37°C while official numbers spiked. Questions also arise about when and by whom the equipment was calibrated. No one denies it was hot; the debate is about how hot.

The Ponentà wind and a half-hour peak

A key nuance emerges here: the heat wasn’t constant, it was a sudden surge. One user shared a graph from a private station in Valencia: average temperatures didn’t reach 30°C, with a sharp, brief peak around 16:00 and humidity plummeting to 17%. Another participant near Dos Aguas measured 42°C on his thermometer and 41°C in his car; twenty minutes later, heading to Buñol, it was down to 35°C, and by 22:00, it had dropped to 26°C. In the afternoon, with the Levante blowing, another user swam in a pool at 32°C, offering another perspective on a summer day. Dry, overheated air reaches the Mediterranean coast, which bears the brunt of these events.

From mercury readings to attributed mortality

The next step is always converting degrees into deaths. One participant cited figures showing over 4,700 heat-related deaths in Spain in 2022, with a significantly lower count in 2023 (August still incomplete). Attribution is debated: some argue part of summer excess mortality was certified under other causes and later reclassified as temperature effects, inflating the narrative. Others note that summer has the lowest death rates of the year, though heat spikes leave their mark on records.

Scorched clementines and a historical dispute

Heat leaves more than just paper records. According to one comment, early-harvest clementines burn when exposed to sun, especially on the bottom side, while persimmons and avocados get scorched skin. These details don’t make headlines about 46.8°C but appear on the bills of those living off the land.

Underlying this is an older debate: whether heat is a threat or a blessing. Some claim cold periods coincided with famines and warm ones with human well-being, while others counter that Castilla thrived during the Little Ice Age and the Roman Climate Optimum was warmer than usual.

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The record stands: 46.8°C on the runway, beating 1986 by 3.4°. At the cited private station, the daily average didn’t reach 30°C. What’s disorienting isn’t the peak, but how short-lived it was.