"It's too hot for this time of year," says Maria del Pozo. "If it's like this now, then in the summer we'll die from the heat." 

The Malaga resident is taking to CGTN on the beach promenade in Malaga. Like many locals, she's taking a walk, with others cooling off in the sea.

In the previous 24 hours the official weather station in Cordoba reached 38.8 degrees Celsius – the highest ever temperature recorded on mainland Spain in April.

Unseasonable highs have also coincided with one of Spain's driest years on record. 

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In the town of Alcaracejos in the Cordoba region, the Sierra Boyera reservoir has already dried up and the council is trucking in freshwater. More than 80,000 people now need support with fresh water. Many gather in the town's central plaza to wait for the truck.

"The summers are getting longer and longer and, of course, evaporation takes its toll," says the mayor of Alcaracejos. "The fact that it rained for just two days in 2023 – everything has conspired to create the perfect storm."

Across Andalucia, heat has spiked in other places like Seville and Granada, with many expecting 40 degrees Celsius over the next few days.

Reservoirs across Andalucia have fallen to 25 percent capacity, reflecting similar levels in Catalonia in northern Spain.

The heatwave has been caused by hot air traveling up from Africa, which has pushed the seasonal averages 8 to 12 degrees Celsius higher than usual.

Cayetano Torres, from, Spain's meteorological agency Aemet, puts it bluntly: "Statistically speaking, this is not normal.

"We are suffering from an anomaly. Plus eight degrees? That is outrageous. To consider the average temperature in Spain is now eight degrees higher than the normal average, that is worrying."

Unwelcome milestones

Last year was the hottest year on record in Spain, and this year could bring more unwelcome milestones as the country faces the prospect of a sweltering summer.

A recent EU report concluded that the climate crisis had "frightening" impacts in Europe last year, with heatwaves killing more than 20,000 people and drought withering crops. Last year brought a record wildfire season, with even worse expected in 2023.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service has warned that Europe is warming twice as fast as the global average.

Politicians are proposing measures to mitigate these ever more frequent extreme weather events like climate refuge areas which would provide more shaded areas, more trees, and increase public water sources.

In cities like Madrid, where citizens cannot cool off at the beach, swimming pools will open a month early.

Back on the Malagueta beach promenade, another passerby expresses his personal fears about the heat.

"Tomorrow is meant to be between 37 and 38 degrees and that's not normal –even for the south of Spain," he said. "I'm worried for the future and I think that the climate is changing really quick."

Street-level concerns are echoed in the corridors of power. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has called the current drought a "major national concern."

He is trying to push through a green agenda with ambitious goals for 2030, but critics say that isn't fast enough. Aemet's Torres talks about the need for a global strategy to tackle the climate crisis‌.

"Spain can't solve climate problems by itself," he said. "We are responsible for around 0.5 or 0.6 percent of global CO2 emissions. We can make a huge effort but if other countries around the world do nothing, then we are in trouble."

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