THE month of May this year was the driest in 68 years with just 1.7cm (less than three-quarters of an inch) of rain, according to weather records.
Typically a rainy month - although mild and sunny on dry days in most parts of the country - May this year not only saw the hottest day for the time of year since 1869 but also the least amount of wet weather since 1947.
Normally, May would see an average of 61 litres of rain per square metre across Spain, which translates to 6.1 centimetres or two-and-a-half inches.
But an ongoing drought in the south, centre and coastal areas is gradually worsening with rainfall at its lowest since just after World War II.
The heaviest incident of rain was in the cathedral city of Santiago de Compostela, in the far north-western region of Galicia on May 4 when downpours reached 40.1 litres per square metre - four centimetres or just under two inches, considered enough to cause damage to a well-maintained and correctly-constructed building.
Otherwise, rainfall in May was at less than 25% of its usual quantity.
Temperatures on May 13 to 15 rocketed, with May 15 being the hottest day in the east-coast region of the Comunidad Valenciana in 146 years - some inland towns saw the mercury rocket to 44.4ºC, whilst beachgoers basked in 37ºC in the shade.
Valencia city was sweltering in 42ºC on these three days, whilst temperatures in the Murcia region, near the inland town of Alcantarilla shot to 42.5ºC and in Lanzarote, to 42.6ºC
Córdoba and Sevilla, frequently among the hottest cities in the mainland, felt the thermometers rising to 41.2ºC and 40.8ºC respectively.
For the country as a whole, with its vastly-varying microclimates and weather ranging from 'typically British' to Saharan, the average temperature for May was 19.1ºC - overall, 2.4ºC higher than is normal for the fifth month of the year; 3.5ºC more in the daytime and 1.4ºC higher at night.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com