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: 81 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 |
| Puerto del Rosario | 8 | 18.6 °C | 23.1 °C | 13.9 |
| Arrecife | 8 | 18.5 °C | 23.1 °C | 12.3 |
| 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 |
| Vinaròs | 5 | 13.6 °C | 27.1 °C | 13.3 |
| Castellón de la Plana | 5 | 14 °C | 27.1 °C | 13.9 |
| 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 |
| Ibiza (Eivissa) | 5 | 14.7 °C | 26.9 °C | 5.3 |
| Sant Josep de sa Talaia | 5 | 14.7 °C | 26.9 °C | 8.8 |
| Santa Eulària des Riu | 5 | 14.7 °C | 26.9 °C | 14.5 |
| Águilas | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.8 °C | 5.5 |
| Mazarrón | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.8 °C | 23.3 |
| Los Alcázares lagoon: figure is the sea beyond the bar | 5 | 14.8 °C | 26.8 °C | 25.2 |
| Gandía | 5 | 14.2 °C | 26.8 °C | 18.3 |
| 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 |
| Jávea / Xàbia | 5 | 14.3 °C | 26.8 °C | 10.2 |
| Moraira | 5 | 14.4 °C | 26.8 °C | 7.1 |
| Ciutadella de Menorca | 5 | 14.2 °C | 26.8 °C | 14.2 |
| 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 |
| Torremolinos | 4 | 15.2 °C | 24.3 °C | 11.1 |
| Benalmádena | 4 | 15.2 °C | 24.3 °C | 13 |
| 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 81, 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
Articles built on this data
- Costa del Sol and Málaga beaches by water quality: from poor grades in 1990 to eight seasons of excellent everywhereGrades from the European register for every sampling point on the Málaga coast since 1990: how the count changed, the city of Málaga's beaches, Marbella's last slip, Torremolinos, fourteen municipalities, the sea at the east and west ends, and hotels in September.
- Costa Blanca and Alicante beaches by water quality: every beach's record since 1990Every beach in Alicante province with an official sampling point: where the water has stayed excellent, where it slipped in recent seasons, and when the coast is quieter for the same sea.
- Tenerife beaches by water quality: where the grade has never dropped, and where it slips nowGrades from the European register for every tested beach on the island since 1990: the one poor grade, the points below excellent last season, the natural pools, and the sea near our three places month by month.
- Which sea is Spain on? The Mediterranean, the Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay — and how warm each getsThe limits of each sea from the International Hydrographic Organization, the sea of every coast worked out from our places' coordinates, and the water temperature month by month, from the Canaries to the Costa Brava.
- Which Spanish coast is best? 26 coasts on the same numbersJanuary, warm sea, beach water, price per square metre, damp, neighbours and the airport run: all 26 coasts on the same fields. Every question has a different winner.
- Where are the Balearic Islands? Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and FormenteraSpain, not a country of their own. Which island is where and how far from Barcelona and Valencia, why winter splits the islands, the sea month by month, and the water at each island's beaches.
- Mallorca's beaches by water quality: each beach's record since 1990Every Mallorca beach with an official sampling point: how many seasons in a row its water has been excellent, when it was last poor, and whose record is too short to judge.
This is an observation, not a forecast: a ten-year monthly normal describes a shore's climate and promises nothing about a particular day.