Madrid: The latest data from the Spanish State Meteorological Agency (AEMET) on Tuesday showed that last month was the second hottest March of the 21st century recorded in the country, with the least rainfall in about 30 years.

Despite a spell of freezing weather at the start of March, the average temperature for the month was 11.6 degrees Celsius for mainland Spain, which is 1.8 degrees above the average for the period of 1991-2020, said the AEMET.

A record high of 33 degrees Celsius was recorded in the city of Murcia in southeast Spain, while the average temperature in the Canary Islands off the northwest coast of Africa was three degrees higher than normal.

The high average temperature was accompanied by unusual dry weather, with the average rainfall over mainland Spain merely reaching 21.2 millimeters, only 36 percent of the normal amount the country usually experiences during March.

The Ministry for Ecological Transition and Demographic Challenge said that due to the alarming weather, Spain remains in a state of persistent drought that began at the end of December 2022.

The hot and dry weather also resulted in an early start of the wildfire season in Spain.

(With UNI inputs)