Climate of Spain
on small regions of Mediterranean coast on Almeria, Granada and Malaga provinces, reaching as high as 20.6 °C (69.1 °F) in Rincón de la Victoria.
[8] In the Canary Islands, annual average temperature varies from less than 10 °C (50 °F) in the highest altitude area of Santa Cruz de Tenerife to more than 21.5 °C (70.7 °F) on lower areas of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, while the average annual precipitation ranges from more than 1,000 millimetres (39 in) on the highest altitudes of La Palma to less than 100 millimetres (3.9 in) in parts of Lanzarote and Fuerteventura.
[8] Spain, like other countries of the Mediterranean Basin, is vulnerable to climate change, with greater risk of heatwaves and dry weather.
In the coastal areas of the Canary Islands, there are some regions that are influenced by a tropical climate, as the average temperature in the coldest month is above 18 °C (64 °F).
The Csb warm-summer Mediterranean climate is found in parts of Galicia and the western areas of Castilla y Leon.
Coastal Mediterranean region is marked by Leveche winds: hot, dry, easterly or southeasterly air currents that originate over North Africa.
Periods of these winds, which sometimes carry fine Saharan dust, are more common in spring and are associated with a sudden, usually short-lived, increase in temperature.
Some valleys in the south are classified as Hot-summer Mediterranean (Csa), like the comarca of O Condado, the city of Ourense or O Ribeiro.
Although Köppen officially limits the oceanic domain to the Asturias and the Basque Country region, certain authors such as Trewartha prefer to extend this climatic zone to the north-west part of the peninsula to Galicia, due to the moderate summer temperatures.
The high humidity and the prevailing off-shore winds make fog and mist common along the north west coast; this phenomenon is less frequent a short distance inland because the mountains form a barrier to the maritime moisture.
The humid subtropical climate exists in large areas of north-eastern Spain, mostly in the northern half of Catalonia and the province of Huesca.
It is also present in parts of the centre (Madrid, Toledo, Ciudad Real and Albacete provinces), south and west of the country which borders between a Mediterranean and semi-arid climate.
[32] This area extends to the Andarax and Almanzora river valleys and the Cabo de Gata-Níjar Natural Park, which are also known for having also a hot desert climate (Köppen: BWh), with a precipitation amount of 156 mm (6.1 in) per year[33] which is reportedly the driest place in Europe.
[35]Besides the above three major climate zones, there are four other climate types in Spain: The southernmost coast of Spain (Málaga and Granada's coastal strip) has the warmest winters across Europe, with very sunny and mostly warm days with total absence of winter frosts allowing for the prolific cultivation of tropical fruits such as mango, papaya, cherimoya, pitaya and the carambola, amongst others.
[43] A very limited area, located right at the eastern coastline of La Palma can be described as closely bordering on wet and dry tropical climate with dry season experienced during high sun months (As), given the mean temperature of the coldest month of the year is generally at or slightly above 18°C at sea level, and the average yearly amount of precipitation results in a borderline non-arid climate by Köppen's definition.
