The attendant in an ice cream shop in Santa Cruz de Tenerife claimed on Wednesday, on another day with temperatures above 20 degrees, that these weeks they are selling a similar amount of ice cream as in the summer.
All data confirms that this winter has been one of the most summery on record. There is the data provided by the Izaña Observatory, located in the Teide National Park and dependent on the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet): Last January equalled the maximum average temperature record for the year 1966 since meteorological records exist: 8.6 degrees Celsius.
The first month of this year has been the warmest in the last 110 years on Tenerife’s summit. The almost 9 degrees contrast with the most repeated average temperatures in this series of over a century, between 3 and 6 degrees.
The warming is not only felt in the Teide National Park, a specially exposed protected area to climate change. It is also noticeable throughout the rest of the Island during a winter that, with few exceptions, has been marked by high temperatures and prolonged calima episodes.
The latest monthly report by Aemet classifies the meteorological situation in Tenerife in particular and in Canary Islands in general as “extremely warm”, not only at the summit. The average temperature last January on the island was 17 degrees and the maximum was 20.9 degrees, the highest in the last 60 years.
Panoramic of the Teide National Park, with visible traces of the summer fire. / Andrés Gutiérrez
Another concept used by the Meteorological Agency in its climate summaries also reflects the worrying upward trend of thermometers: tropical nights, a term used to refer to nights with temperatures of 25 degrees or above.
Tenerife has experienced more than ever in a January, with a total of 5. And if the data is taken to the whole of the Archipelago, last January marks another regional record: 60 tropical nights spread across all the islands. In the last ten years, the only one that came close was 2016, with 38 torrid nights.
Tenerife also recorded last month the fourth highest temperature of all the Islands: the 29.6 degrees marked by the Güímar station on the 12th day. The top of the ranking are La Oliva (Fuerteventura), with 31.7 degrees; La Aldea de San Nicolás (Gran Canaria), with 31.1; and La Graciosa, with 29.7. Regarding the highest monthly average temperatures, Adeje made the difference in Tenerife with a record of 20.7, one degree higher than the previous maximum record, dating back to 1975.
Tenerife recorded the fourth highest temperature of all the Islands last month: the 29.6 degrees marked by the Güímar station on the 12th day
These statistics reflect worrying anomalies. Thus, the average temperature in Tenerife last January exceeded the forecast by the State Meteorological Agency by 3.7 degrees, making it the warmest first month of the year since 1961. In the overall calculation for the Canary Islands, this anomaly is 3.1 degrees, leading Aemet to describe it as an “extremely warm” winter.
The average temperature in the Canary Islands throughout January 2024 has remained above the reference period 1991-2020 during every day of the month, with two episodes of very marked temperature rises, the first between days 8 and 16, and the second from the 21st to the end of the month, detailed the Meteorological Agency, which adds in its latest report that the highest maximum temperature for a January in the Canary Islands has been reached since records are available: the 31.7 degrees at the Cotillo highway station (La Oliva, Fuerteventura) on the 16th day.
But the main climatic problem, beyond high temperatures, is the scarcity of rainfall, which exacerbates the water crisis in Tenerife
But the main climatic problem, beyond the high temperatures, is the scarcity of rainfall. In addition toJanuary Records Extremely Low Rainfall in the Canary Islands
The past January was extremely warm. The Aemet has classified it as “very dry”, ranking it as the seventh driest month in the last 60 years. The average amount of rainfall accumulated was 4.7 liters per square meter in the archipelago, barely 13% of the expected value by the Meteorological Agency. The circulation of storms to the northwest of the Islands has not brought any significant downpour.
In addition to being extremely warm, the Aemet has classified the past January as “very dry”, ranking it as the seventh driest month in the last 60 years
If there has been very little rainfall, at least in the province of Tenerife, the situation has not been as critical as in Las Palmas. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife, an average of 8.6 liters per square meter fell, which is 18% of the expected amount based on averages from previous years. In the province of Las Palmas, the figure drops to just 1.5 liters per square meter, only 6% of what meteorologists expected.
The lack of water this winter could worsen the water crisis that Tenerife has been suffering from since last year if it is not addressed by any storms that may reach the island in the coming weeks. There have also been no snowfalls this winter, which are essential for replenishing an aquifer that has been severely impacted by overexploitation. On Christmas Eve, Mount Teide only granted the island a light dusting of snow, nothing compared to the heavy snowfalls that have yet to arrive at the beginning of this year.
Fine white blanket that Teide ‘gifted’ to Tenerife last Christmas Eve. / María Pisaca
Only two periods of rainfall stood out last January, one between the 2nd and 5th days, and another between the 15th and 20th. However, the balance of rainfall is very poor. In the first episode, the highest rainfall in Tenerife was recorded in Güímar (10.9 liters per square meter), while in the second, it was 10.4 in Santiago del Teide. It is noteworthy that both peaks occurred in the least rainy part of Tenerife, the South.
The lack of rainfall has caused the 23 reservoirs that supply water to the farmland in Tenerife to reach the lowest levels in winter. The latest report provided by Balten, a public company owned by the Tenerife Island Council, as of February 1, indicates an average volume level of only 34%. If this situation continues, it is likely that drastic measures will have to be taken in the coming months.
