Very Dry
Temperatures
The average maximum temperature during December 2023 in Malaga was 18.1 Celsius (64F), and that was 0.6 Celsius (>1 F) above normal for the time of year. The average minimum temperature was 10.0 Celsius (50F), and that was 0.5 Celsius (<1 F) below normal for December. Overall, it was the coolest December for 6 years.
Although temperatures during the month as a whole were generally unspectacular, there was 1 notable exception. On the 12th, the temperature rose to 28.7 Celsius (84F). Not only did this beat the previous December record by a massive 5.0 Celsius (9F), it was higher than any maximum temperature ever recorded in November. At Malaga Airport the temperature reached 29.4 Celsius (85F), but at another ‘official’ weather station, approximately 3 km north of the airport, a maximum of 29.9 Celsius (86F) occurred. This was the highest December temperature ever recorded in Spain, and appears to be the highest December maximum for mainland Europe. It was very much a ‘one off’ high at this site on the coast, as the previous day (the 11th) was the 3rd coolest day of the month, with a maximum of 15.6 Celsius (60F), and the following day (the 13th) only had a high of 19.1 Celsius (66F). In fact, only 4 other days had highs above 20 Celsius (68F). On the 9th, the temperature peaked at 22.6 Celsius (73F), with the next highest occurring on the 31st when 20.7 Celsius (69F) was measured. On most other days the maximum temperature was in the range 16 to 20 Celsius (61-68F), but on 6 days the temperature failed to reach 16 Celsius (61F). All of these cooler days occurred before mid month, with the 6th, which recorded a high of 14.8 Celsius (59F), being the only day when the temperature failed to reach 15 Celsius (59F).
There were no warm nights during December. The highest night-time temperature was 14.8 Celsius (59F) recorded on the 6th, and a further 4 nights had minima above 13 Celsius (55F). All of these milder nights occurred before mid month. Perhaps surprisingly, the above-mentioned exceptionally warm day was preceded by a low of just 10.8 Celsius (51F). On 9 nights, the temperature fell to between 10 and 12 Celsius (50-54F), but there were only 3 nights with minima above 10 Celsius (50F) after the 14th, and only 3 nights below 10 Celsius (50F) before the 14th. On 8 nights, the temperature fell below 8 Celsius (46F), but 7 of those nights had minima between 6.8 Celsius and 7.1 Celsius (45F). The exception was the 17th, when a minimum of 5.4 Celsius (41F) was recorded.
The sea temperature was around 14 or 15 Celsius (57-59F) throughout the month.
Rain
A total of 3.0 millimetres (0.12 ins.) of precipitation was measured during December. This was just 5% of the monthly average. Although this in itself was not a record, it meant the total 2023 rainfall total was only 142.7 millimetres (5.6 ins.), of which, the last six months contributed a mere 29.3 millimetres (1.1 ins.). If this level of rainfall was to be sustained over several years, Malaga would be classified as a ‘desert’. The wettest day in December was the first day of the month when patchy rain in the morning gave 1.4 millimetres (0.05 ins.). Light rain or drizzle added 0.4 millimetres (0.02 ins.), 0.6 millimetres (0.03 ins) and 0.2 millimetres (0.01 ins.) on the 4th, 6th and 7th respectively, with the final contribution to the monthly total occurring on the 11th when wet fog produced 0.2 millimetres (0.01 ins.) of precipitation.
Thunder
No thunder was heard in this part of Malaga during the month.
Wind
The 11th, when the wet fog occurred, was 1 of only 2 days when east to southeasterly winds blew for the majority of the day. The other day was the 5th, when the chilly breeze off the sea led to it being the second coldest day of the month, with a high of 15.3 Celsius (60F). On every other day the northwesterly land breeze dominated, with southeasterly sea breezes weak or, as on most days, completely absent. The northwesterly wind was quite brisk at times, and on 10 days there were gusts of 20 knots (23 mph) or more. The highest gust was 28 knots (32 mph) on the 8th.
Fog
There were areas of fog during the day on the 11th, and they were dense at times before clearing away during the evening.
Statistics for December 2023
| Reporting Station | Highest Temp | Lowest Temp | Rain Total (mm) | Wettest | Rain days |
| Malaga Airport | 29.4** | 4.1 | 0.2 | 0.2 | 1 |
| Malaga Harbour | 28.1 | 8.9 | 3 | 2.5 | 3 |
| Fuengirola | * | * | 5 | 2 | 4 |
| Granada Airport | 22.7 | -4.6 | 16 | 9 | 5 |
| Almeria | 20.7 | 4.9 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| Seville | 20.2 | 1.0 | 8 | 4 | 5 |
| Cordoba | 21.2 | -2.0 | 19 | 15 | 4 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | 21.6 | -0.4 | 7 | 6 | 3 |
| Murcia | 27.2** | 0.9 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
- * Data missing
- ** New Records this year
Climatology for December
| Reporting Station | Extreme High Temp | Extreme Low Temp | Average Rain (mm) | Extreme Wettest day (mm) | Average Rain days |
| Malaga Airport | 24.6 | -0.6 | 88 | 133 | 6 |
| Granada Airport | 24.5 | -9.2 | 53 | 42 | 7 |
| Almeria | 29.2 | 2.0 | 23 | 48 | 3 |
| Seville | 24.5 | -4.8 | 95 | 81 | 8 |
| Cordoba | 23.8 | -7.8 | 85 | 120 | 6 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | 26.8 | -5.4 | 89 | 101 | 8 |
| Murcia | 25.8 | -6.0 | 21 | 43 | 4 |