Is the summer too hot?

In one word – no!

It would be very wrong to say that the temperatures on the Costa del Sol are always perfect. We have just come through one of the hottest summers on record when temperatures rose to the low 40s Celsius day after day and there was no rain at all from the first week in May until the first week in October. In the sun it was very hot indeed but the moral is to stay out of the sun. In the shade the temperature was perfectly bearable and actually very pleasant. It is also amazing how your attitude changes when you live in a hot climate. Until moving to Spain we had enjoyed two or three holidays a year in the sun. The first thing we would do after arrival at our destination was to make straight for the beach or pool to bask in the sun.

No longer! When you are able to enjoy the sun virtually every day of the year it is no longer necessary to lie out in it just to prove you have been on holiday. Now we watch the holidaymakers turn red as they overdo their sunbathing. We stay in the shade.

Respecting the sun

The local population here has lived with the climate for centuries and they have learned to respect it. In order to survive summer you need to make sure that your house faces in the right direction. The Spanish themselves often buy east or north facing – if they buy south facing they do look at how they can avoid the heat of the summer sun. You must also respect climatic oddities. When the hot wind blows from the Sahara you need to close the windows to keep the wind out – not open them and hope you will have a cooling breeze.

The sun needs to be respected. It is powerful here and if you get too much of it you will feel even hotter because your skin is sunburnt.

One local factor, which can result in the heat of the summer being more bearable, is the fact that generally the relative humidity is low. Heat with high humidity is much more difficult to live with. We have found Florida or the Caribbean more difficult to cope with.

Summers are not too hot so long as you are sensible about the sun and the possible heat.