Malaga under amber warning for temperatures exceeding 42C on Thursday and Friday due to the terral wind

For several days now, weather forecasts have been warning of a spell of intense land breeze in the second half of this week in Malaga province.

An amber alert has made the warning official, particularly for the Guadalhorce Valley and the Costa del Sol, including Malaga city. On Thursday and Friday, the provincial map will turn orange for the second time this summer, following the alert on 17 July.

Temperatures are forecast to be even higher than on the previous occasion. Generally speaking, temperatures will reach 39C in the most populated towns along the coast and in wider Malaga.

The Aemet state meteorological agency also warns that temperatures may exceed 42C in the Guadalhorce Valley and at the western end of the coast (Estepona, Manilva and even Cortes de la Frontera, which is already in the Serranía).

In the case of Pizarra, Aemet's automated forecasting system (which isn't entirely reliable but is indicative) predicts a maximum of 46C this Thursday and 43C on Friday. Álora and Coín will experience highs of 44C and 43C, respectively, on Thursday.

It is worth noting that the all-time record for the highest temperature was set in the municipality of Perote, with 45C on 1 August 2020. In principle, it is unlikely that this record will be broken tomorrow, but the temperature will certainly come close.

By contrast, the situation in Malaga city is less clear. SUR's weather expert José Luis Escudero believes it's unlikely that there will be such an intense terral wind this Thursday.

"I don't think we'll reach 40C. It might happen at the airport and in the area closest to the Guadalhorce towards the end of the day, but not in the city centre," he said in his blog.

According to him, the situation will be similar to that which occurred on 9 July, when there was a 10C difference between the Malaga Port station and the Teatinos meteorological centre due to the terral.

"It is striking that such differences are recorded between stations located just a few kilometres apart, which highlights the enormous impact that wind direction and maritime influence have on temperature distribution in Malaga," Escudero said.

According to the data from that day, temperatures stood at 40.1C at the Aemet headquarters in El Cónsul; 39.1C at the airport ; and just 30.2C at the port.

Escudero believes it is more likely that the psychological threshold of 40C will be reached in the city on Friday. "The airport could reach 42C, which would trigger a red alert," Escudero warns. Antequera is also under an amber alert (maximum of 40C) between Wednesday and Thursday.

Later on Saturday, the warm westerly wind will continue blowing, but at a much milder level, bringing temperatures to a maximum of 35C. The drop in temperature will be even more noticeable in the Ronda and Antequera area, where it will remain at around 29-31C.

At last, the weather is set to take a turn this weekend… for the better. At midday on Sunday, the easterly wind is expected to set in, leading to a sharp drop in temperatures, which will be even more noticeable in terms of the wind chill due to the contrast with previous days.

In Malaga city, temperatures will hover around 31-32C; between 33C and 35C in Álora and Pizarra; and around 31C in Ronda. Furthermore, the haze will finally clear and the air will be cleaner next week. Similarly, the African air mass will also be replaced by a cooler, more humid one.

Aemet representative for Andalucía Juan de Dios del Pino predicts that, generally speaking, from this Thursday onwards the high-pressure system will remain off the Portuguese coast and air of Atlantic origin will begin to flow in. As a result, temperatures in the interior of the region will drop by around 5C, returning to maximum temperatures of around 35C.

It is precisely this westerly weather pattern that Aemet warns will be felt in the Costa del Sol in the form of a land breeze on Thursday and Friday. This once again demonstrates that Malaga's weather patterns are distinct from those of the rest of Andalucía.

Spain is experiencing a scorching summer due to a succession of heatwaves that are becoming increasingly intense, prolonged and frequent. Not surprisingly, these events are in line with scientists' predictions regarding the consequences of climate change.

The situation "is highly unusual", as Aemet spokesperson Rubén del Campo told EFE. He explained that, since 1 June, "there has been hardly a single day with below-average temperatures, not a moment's respite".

Del Campo said that in much of the country "the intense heat began not in June, but earlier, at the end of May". With Aemet having already issued its third heatwave warning this summer, Del Campo stated that in recent years the "frequency, intensity, extent and duration of heatwaves have increased significantly".

Furthermore, heatwaves in June have become much more frequent this decade. This was the case in 2022 and 2025, which were two scorching summers. The meteorologist also pointed out that, between 1975 and 2000, such episodes in June were almost non-existent, whereas so far in the 21st century they have been five times more frequent than in the previous 25 years.

Today's weather forecast for Malaga province