Monthly sea temperature
Guides answer the water question with one figure for a whole coast. The Costa Blanca runs two hundred kilometres and the Canaries are seven islands, so one figure is not an answer. Here each of the 132 places has its own grid cell: 80 distinct monthly profiles.
What the figure does not mean
A grid cell is a square of roughly 25 kilometres, and a coastal one averages in the open sea. It cannot see a bay, an inlet, or cold water rising at a headland. That is enough for a monthly normal and not enough for “what is the water like at this beach today”.
An enclosed lagoon is a case of its own. The Mar Menor is cut off from the sea by a sand bar; its water is shallower and saltier, warmer than the open sea in summer and colder in winter. The nearest sea cell lies on the far side of the bar, so for the three towns on the lagoon this dataset describes water they do not swim in. They are marked in the table.
The table
From the longest season to the shortest. The season counts months at or above 20 °C — below that only the hardy go in.
| Place | Months at 20 °C+ | Yearly low | Yearly peak | Cell, km |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Santa Cruz de La Palma | 10 | 19.7 °C | 24.4 °C | 12.4 |
| Los Llanos de Aridane | 10 | 19.7 °C | 24.4 °C | 5.5 |
| Puerto de la Cruz | 10 | 19.5 °C | 24.2 °C | 8.7 |
| San Sebastián de La Gomera | 10 | 19.7 °C | 24.1 °C | 4 |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife | 10 | 19.4 °C | 24.1 °C | 15.6 |
| Adeje / Costa Adeje | 10 | 19.5 °C | 24 °C | 11.9 |
| Mogán | 9 | 19.2 °C | 23.6 °C | 9.7 |
| Maspalomas | 9 | 19.2 °C | 23.6 °C | 13.3 |
| Las Palmas de Gran Canaria | 8 | 19.1 °C | 23.6 °C | 6 |
| Telde | 8 | 19.1 °C | 23.5 °C | 14.3 |
| Antigua | 8 | 18.7 °C | 23.2 °C | 12.1 |
| Pájara | 8 | 18.7 °C | 23.2 °C | 3.3 |
| Yaiza | 8 | 18.6 °C | 23.2 °C | 13.8 |
| Arrecife | 8 | 18.5 °C | 23.1 °C | 12.3 |
| Puerto del Rosario | 8 | 18.6 °C | 23.1 °C | 13.9 |
| Tías | 8 | 18.5 °C | 23.1 °C | 9.2 |
| Corralejo | 8 | 18.6 °C | 23.1 °C | 12.6 |
| Teguise | 7 | 18.5 °C | 23.1 °C | 9.6 |
| Palma de Mallorca | 6 | 14.7 °C | 27.1 °C | 21.7 |
| Castellón de la Plana | 5 | 14 °C | 27.1 °C | 13.9 |
| Vinaròs | 5 | 13.6 °C | 27.1 °C | 13.3 |
| Alicante | 5 | 14.6 °C | 27.1 °C | 9.9 |
| Peñíscola | 5 | 13.6 °C | 27.1 °C | 2.8 |
| Santa Pola | 5 | 14.6 °C | 27.1 °C | 9.6 |
| Benicàssim | 5 | 13.8 °C | 27.1 °C | 9.1 |
| El Campello | 5 | 14.6 °C | 27.1 °C | 6.2 |
| Guardamar del Segura | 5 | 14.6 °C | 27.1 °C | 4.7 |
| Pollença | 5 | 14.4 °C | 27.1 °C | 18.9 |
| Sagunto | 5 | 14.1 °C | 27 °C | 13.7 |
| San Javier lagoon: figure is the sea beyond the bar | 5 | 14.7 °C | 27 °C | 19.9 |
| San Pedro del Pinatar lagoon: figure is the sea beyond the bar | 5 | 14.7 °C | 27 °C | 15.1 |
| Torrevieja | 5 | 14.7 °C | 27 °C | 12.6 |
| Benidorm | 5 | 14.6 °C | 27 °C | 18.5 |
| Orihuela Costa | 5 | 14.7 °C | 27 °C | 11.6 |
| Alaior | 5 | 14.3 °C | 26.9 °C | 6.6 |
| Valencia | 5 | 14.1 °C | 26.9 °C | 24 |
| Alcúdia | 5 | 14.4 °C | 26.9 °C | 21.9 |
| Sant Antoni de Portmany | 5 | 14.7 °C | 26.9 °C | 13.6 |
| Santa Eulària des Riu | 5 | 14.7 °C | 26.9 °C | 14.5 |
| Sant Josep de sa Talaia | 5 | 14.7 °C | 26.9 °C | 8.8 |
| Ibiza (Eivissa) | 5 | 14.7 °C | 26.9 °C | 5.3 |
| Águilas | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.8 °C | 5.5 |
| Mazarrón | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.8 °C | 20.5 |
| Gandía | 5 | 14.2 °C | 26.8 °C | 18.3 |
| Los Alcázares lagoon: figure is the sea beyond the bar | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.8 °C | 25.2 |
| Cullera | 5 | 14.2 °C | 26.8 °C | 12 |
| Cambrils | 5 | 13.5 °C | 26.8 °C | 22 |
| Maó / Mahón | 5 | 14.3 °C | 26.8 °C | 9.4 |
| Dénia | 5 | 14.3 °C | 26.8 °C | 4.2 |
| Es Castell | 5 | 14.3 °C | 26.8 °C | 7.2 |
| Calpe / Calp | 5 | 14.4 °C | 26.8 °C | 7.3 |
| Altea | 5 | 14.4 °C | 26.8 °C | 15.7 |
| Ciutadella de Menorca | 5 | 14.2 °C | 26.8 °C | 14.2 |
| Jávea / Xàbia | 5 | 14.3 °C | 26.8 °C | 10.2 |
| Moraira | 5 | 14.4 °C | 26.8 °C | 7.1 |
| Formentera | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.8 °C | 10.1 |
| Reus | 5 | 13.6 °C | 26.7 °C | 22.7 |
| Tarragona | 5 | 13.6 °C | 26.7 °C | 11 |
| Salou | 5 | 13.6 °C | 26.7 °C | 20.3 |
| Castelldefels | 5 | 13.6 °C | 26.7 °C | 19.5 |
| Sitges | 5 | 13.6 °C | 26.7 °C | 13.8 |
| Cartagena | 5 | 14.9 °C | 26.6 °C | 28.5 |
| Vera | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.4 °C | 13.6 |
| Garrucha | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.4 °C | 8.3 |
| Mojácar | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.4 °C | 4.1 |
| Badalona | 5 | 13.4 °C | 26.3 °C | 13.5 |
| Barcelona | 5 | 13.4 °C | 26.3 °C | 17.3 |
| Mataró | 5 | 13.3 °C | 26 °C | 17.9 |
| Blanes | 5 | 13.3 °C | 25.8 °C | 8.9 |
| Lloret de Mar | 5 | 13.3 °C | 25.8 °C | 8.6 |
| Almería | 5 | 15.1 °C | 25.4 °C | 24.9 |
| Roquetas de Mar | 5 | 15.2 °C | 25.3 °C | 15.5 |
| Adra | 5 | 15.2 °C | 24.9 °C | 16.6 |
| Girona | 5 | 13.3 °C | 24.7 °C | 27.7 |
| Salobreña | 5 | 15.3 °C | 24.6 °C | 13.8 |
| Granada | 5 | 15.3 °C | 24.6 °C | 61.5 |
| Almuñécar | 5 | 15.3 °C | 24.6 °C | 13.4 |
| Torre del Mar | 5 | 15.3 °C | 24.5 °C | 13.8 |
| Torrox | 5 | 15.3 °C | 24.5 °C | 14.5 |
| Nerja | 5 | 15.3 °C | 24.5 °C | 14.4 |
| Vélez-Málaga | 5 | 15.3 °C | 24.5 °C | 18 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | 5 | 15.3 °C | 23.4 °C | 23.2 |
| Sanlúcar de Barrameda | 5 | 15.3 °C | 23.4 °C | 17.2 |
| El Puerto de Santa María | 5 | 15.3 °C | 23.4 °C | 13.2 |
| Cádiz | 5 | 15.3 °C | 23.4 °C | 12.9 |
| Seville | 5 | 15.2 °C | 23.3 °C | 80.6 |
| Chiclana de la Frontera | 5 | 15.5 °C | 23.1 °C | 5.4 |
| Conil de la Frontera | 5 | 15.5 °C | 23.1 °C | 12.1 |
| Huelva | 5 | 15 °C | 23 °C | 16.4 |
| Punta Umbría | 5 | 15 °C | 23 °C | 10.3 |
| Isla Cristina | 5 | 15.5 °C | 22.2 °C | 9.6 |
| Ayamonte | 5 | 15.5 °C | 22.2 °C | 10.2 |
| Alhaurín de la Torre | 4 | 15.2 °C | 24.3 °C | 17.5 |
| Málaga | 4 | 15.2 °C | 24.3 °C | 11.5 |
| Mijas | 4 | 15.2 °C | 24.3 °C | 23.6 |
| Rincón de la Victoria | 4 | 15.2 °C | 24.3 °C | 13.6 |
| Benalmádena | 4 | 15.2 °C | 24.3 °C | 13 |
| Torremolinos | 4 | 15.2 °C | 24.3 °C | 11.1 |
| Fuengirola | 4 | 15.5 °C | 23.3 °C | 18.3 |
| Roses | 4 | 13.2 °C | 23 °C | 20.6 |
| Tarifa | 4 | 16 °C | 21.9 °C | 15.4 |
| San Sebastián / Donostia | 3 | 12.5 °C | 22.7 °C | 10.7 |
| Zarautz | 3 | 12.6 °C | 22.7 °C | 10.7 |
| Marbella | 3 | 15.4 °C | 22.6 °C | 15 |
| Castro Urdiales | 3 | 12.8 °C | 22.2 °C | 7.6 |
| Laredo | 3 | 12.8 °C | 22.2 °C | 23.2 |
| Bilbao | 3 | 12.8 °C | 22.2 °C | 19.8 |
| Getxo | 3 | 12.8 °C | 22.2 °C | 10.5 |
| Santander | 3 | 12.9 °C | 22.1 °C | 18.8 |
| Manilva | 3 | 15.4 °C | 22.1 °C | 11.1 |
| Estepona | 3 | 15.4 °C | 22.1 °C | 6.1 |
| Llanes | 3 | 12.9 °C | 21.7 °C | 24.7 |
| Los Barrios | 3 | 15.5 °C | 21.5 °C | 12.6 |
| Algeciras | 3 | 15.5 °C | 21.5 °C | 7.5 |
| La Línea de la Concepción | 3 | 15.5 °C | 21.5 °C | 5.2 |
| San Roque | 3 | 15.5 °C | 21.5 °C | 9.5 |
| Gijón | 2 | 12.9 °C | 21.1 °C | 9.3 |
| Avilés | 1 | 12.9 °C | 20.9 °C | 8.6 |
| Oviedo | 1 | 12.9 °C | 20.9 °C | 29.5 |
| Viveiro | 1 | 12.9 °C | 20.2 °C | 25.9 |
| Ribadeo | 0 | 13 °C | 19.9 °C | 12.6 |
| Narón | 0 | 13 °C | 19.3 °C | 10.7 |
| Carballo | 0 | 13 °C | 18.5 °C | 18.8 |
| Ferrol | 0 | 13 °C | 18.4 °C | 16.4 |
| Sada | 0 | 13 °C | 18.4 °C | 8.5 |
| A Coruña | 0 | 13 °C | 18.4 °C | 3.3 |
| Camariñas | 0 | 13.2 °C | 17.8 °C | 19.1 |
| Fisterra | 0 | 13.3 °C | 17.2 °C | 10.9 |
| Vigo | 0 | 13.5 °C | 17 °C | 18.1 |
| Pontevedra | 0 | 13.4 °C | 16.9 °C | 19.9 |
| Sanxenxo | 0 | 13.4 °C | 16.9 °C | 6 |
| Cee | 0 | 13.3 °C | 16.7 °C | 11.1 |
How it is built
The source is NOAA's OISST 2.1 daily sea-surface grid at 0.25°, running since September 1981. We take the ten most recent full years, 2015–2024: a normal should describe the sea a person will step into, not a forty-year average.
A town's coordinates sit on land, and the grid is empty over land. So a box is taken around the place, the cells that hold water are kept, and the nearest one is picked. Its distance is a column of its own in the table, so you can see how closely the figure belongs to that shore.
Validation: on 1 August 2024 the coastal gauge off Málaga averaged 25.06 °C across twenty-four hourly readings; the grid gave 25.13 °C for the same day. The difference is 0.07 °C.
What it changes in our base: 132 places used to differ by seventeen profiles, because values were written per coast. There are now 80, and the count of months above 20 °C changed for forty places.
Licence and how to cite
Our compilation is published under CC BY 4.0. The primary source is a United States government dataset, freely distributed; its own terms are at the link below.
Relocoast. Monthly sea temperature on the Spanish coast, 2015–2024. From the NOAA OISST 2.1 daily grid. https://relocoast.com/en/data/sea-temperature
This is an observation, not a forecast: a ten-year monthly normal describes a shore's climate and promises nothing about a particular day.