Climate
Murcia has a hot subtropical semi-arid climate (Köppen climate classification BSh), with Mediterranean (Csa) influences. Given its proximity to the Mediterranean Sea, it is commonly referred to as a "semi-arid Mediterranean climate", with mild winters and warm to hot summers.
It averages more than 300 days of sun per year. Occasionally, Murcia has heavy rains where the precipitation for the entire year will fall over the course of a few days.
In the coldest month, January, the average temperature range is a high of 16 °C (61 °F) during the day and a low of 4 °C (39 °F) at night. In the warmest month, August, the range goes from 33 °C (91 °F) during the day to 20 °C (68 °F) at night. Temperatures almost always reach or exceed 40 °C (104 °F) on at least one or two days per year. In fact, Murcia holds temperature records close to the highest recorded in southern Europe since reliable meteorological records commenced in 1950. The official record for Murcia stands at a stifling 46.1 °C (115.0 °F), at Alcantarilla airport in the western suburbs on July 4, 1994 with 45.7 °C (114.3 °F) being recorded at a station near the city centre on the same day.
| Climate data for Murcia - Alcantarilla | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 16.4 (61.5) |
18.2 (64.8) |
20.4 (68.7) |
22.5 (72.5) |
25.8 (78.4) |
30.0 (86.0) |
33.4 (92.1) |
33.6 (92.5) |
30.2 (86.4) |
25.0 (77.0) |
20.0 (68.0) |
17.0 (62.6) |
24.4 (75.9) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 10.1 (50.2) |
11.7 (53.1) |
13.5 (56.3) |
15.6 (60.1) |
19.0 (66.2) |
23.1 (73.6) |
26.2 (79.2) |
26.7 (80.1) |
23.6 (74.5) |
18.8 (65.8) |
14.1 (57.4) |
11.1 (52.0) |
17.8 (64.0) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 3.9 (39.0) |
5.2 (41.4) |
6.7 (44.1) |
8.7 (47.7) |
12.2 (54.0) |
16.2 (61.2) |
19.0 (66.2) |
19.9 (67.8) |
16.9 (62.4) |
12.7 (54.9) |
8.2 (46.8) |
5.2 (41.4) |
11.2 (52.2) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 25 (0.98) |
28 (1.1) |
30 (1.18) |
27 (1.06) |
32 (1.26) |
20 (0.79) |
5 (0.2) |
10 (0.39) |
27 (1.06) |
44 (1.73) |
32 (1.26) |
21 (0.83) |
301 (11.85) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 3 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 35 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 172 | 176 | 212 | 240 | 280 | 310 | 338 | 301 | 235 | 203 | 169 | 159 | 2,797 |
| Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología | |||||||||||||
| Climate data for Murcia - San Javier (Airport, near sea) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 15.9 (60.6) |
16.9 (62.4) |
18.1 (64.6) |
19.9 (67.8) |
22.4 (72.3) |
25.7 (78.3) |
28.4 (83.1) |
29.0 (84.2) |
27.3 (81.1) |
23.4 (74.1) |
19.6 (67.3) |
16.8 (62.2) |
22.0 (71.6) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 10.6 (51.1) |
11.6 (52.9) |
12.9 (55.2) |
14.6 (58.3) |
17.6 (63.7) |
21.3 (70.3) |
24.1 (75.4) |
24.9 (76.8) |
22.7 (72.9) |
18.7 (65.7) |
14.6 (58.3) |
11.7 (53.1) |
17.1 (62.8) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 5.2 (41.4) |
6.3 (43.3) |
7.6 (45.7) |
9.3 (48.7) |
12.9 (55.2) |
17.0 (62.6) |
19.9 (67.8) |
20.8 (69.4) |
18.2 (64.8) |
14.0 (57.2) |
9.7 (49.5) |
6.6 (43.9) |
12.3 (54.1) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 38 (1.5) |
26 (1.02) |
29 (1.14) |
25 (0.98) |
31 (1.22) |
11 (0.43) |
6 (0.24) |
8 (0.31) |
34 (1.34) |
55 (2.17) |
43 (1.69) |
33 (1.3) |
339 (13.35) |
| Avg. precipitation days (≥ 1 mm) | 4 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 33 |
| Mean monthly sunshine hours | 163 | 166 | 194 | 206 | 253 | 261 | 284 | 259 | 212 | 193 | 163 | 146 | 2,500 |
| Source: Agencia Estatal de Meteorología | |||||||||||||
Read more about this topic: Murcia
Famous quotes containing the word climate:
“Culture is the name for what people are interested in, their thoughts, their models, the books they read and the speeches they hear, their table-talk, gossip, controversies, historical sense and scientific training, the values they appreciate, the quality of life they admire. All communities have a culture. It is the climate of their civilization.”
—Walter Lippmann (1889–1974)
“The climate of Ohio is perfect, considered as the home of an ideal republican people. Climate has much to do with national character.... A climate which permits labor out-of-doors every month in the year and which requires industry to secure comfort—to provide food, shelter, clothing, fuel, etc.—is the very climate which secures the highest civilization.”
—Rutherford Birchard Hayes (1822–1893)
“When we consider how much climate contributes to the happiness of our condition, by the fine sensation it excites, and the productions it is the parent of, we have reason to value highly the accident of birth in such a one as that of Virginia.”
—Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826)