Monday, 14 July 2025, 11:15
Given the sharp drop in coastal sea temperatures along the Costa del Sol this past weekend, that “as warm as a stew” sensation that beachgoers felt in June and at the start of July has gone away. SUR’s weather expert – José Luis Escudero – said that the water on Sunday was even colder than expected, having dropped to 17.2C. In comparison, the record so far this month was 28C.
The cause? One of the reasons put forward is that the sea near the shore has been “agitated” by ‘terral’ and westerly winds. “This does not mean that the Alboran Sea has become cold – only areas close to the coast of Malaga province,” said Escudero, adding that the main body of the sea itself is still at 26C. The local weather expert forecasts that the coast will also experience another rise in temperatures, “little by little”, this week.
The highest atmospheric temperature this past Sunday was recorded in the Guadalhorce Valley (35C), while Malaga city did not surpass 31C.
Record in July
This drop in coastal sea temperatures is indeed sharp, especially given that a new record was set just a few days prior to that – on Tuesday, 8 July, the sea temperature at the port of Malaga was 28C, the highest since records began in 1984.
The previous record for July of 27.7C was registered in 2015. The average for this month is 20.3C. The all-time highest sea temperature, however, was in August of that year with 29.1C. People on 7 August 2015 were able to take the warmest dip ever due to the lasting calmness of the sea, with no wind and high temperatures.