Climate à Ibiza
Mild in winter (the thermometer rarely falls below 0°C), hot in summer (the temperature can then approach 40°C), the climate of Ibiza is typically Mediterranean. The average temperature is 18°C and generally fluctuates between 10°C in winter and 25°C in summer, with an average of 300 days of sunshine per year. Spring, like the months of September and October, is very variable, but it is during this period that the most beautiful light and ideal warmth can be enjoyed. Obviously, during the summer, it is warmer and more beautiful (sometimes even too hot!), and July is the beginning of the tourist invasion. Mass tourism, made possible by this wonderful climate, is not without consequences for nature. So much so that recently, legislators have been organizing themselves to protect the island's fragile environment.
Climate and seasonality
The winter in Ibiza, of Mediterranean type, proves deliciously soft since the temperatures are around 12 °C. It is precisely for this mildness that many Europeans have chosen to settle in the archipelago, the winter months being the most tranquil time. If the weather can sometimes seem unstable, the days are mostly sunny, clear and limpid. Beware, however, that the temperature drops in the evening and the nights can be quite chilly! Therefore, a jacket or coat is only necessary at nightfall. During the day, a simple sweater can do the trick in Ibiza. In February, the almond trees in Ibiza begin to bloom and the north of the island is covered in white and pink, especially in Santa Agnes de Corona.
Spring and autumn are very variable seasons, but this is when you can enjoy the most beautiful weeks of the year with perfect sunshine and ideal temperatures. There may be a few days of sporadic but heavy rain. It is rare that it rains for a whole day, but it can last for a long week at the time of the equinox. In spring, however, even under a stormy sky, it is not cold. When a thunderstorm comes, the temperature rises to 20/25°C immediately afterwards. The sun always manages to warm the air and dry the earth. Despite this impressive rainfall, the island, like the Iberian Peninsula, has been suffering from drought for several years. Lately, the rains have become more sporadic, less violent, and the drought in Ibiza, as in the rest of the Balearic Islands, has been greater than that of the so-called very dry regions of the peninsula.
Summer is the great tourist season and begins in June, sometimes in mid-May for those lucky enough to take a vacation at this early time. The weather is hot and the sun is shining. The sky is blue and the water is cool (about 25°C), but the beaches are quieter. In the evening, the temperature gets cooler and you can wear a little wool. The east or rising wind can blow. June is the beginning of the tourist invasion. Obviously it is hotter, sometimes even too hot, up to 40°C. Slippers and sun cream are your best allies.
Natural disasters in Ibiza
Although located in European latitudes, the Balearic archipelago is sometimes the victim of climate-related damage. Such was the case in May 2011, when a huge forest fire swept through dozens of hectares, necessitating the evacuation of almost a thousand residents of eastern Ibiza. In all, no less than 1,500 hectares of vegetation went up in smoke during this episode, which has gone down as the biggest fire in the island's history. The previous year, another fire had ravaged 350 hectares of forest and almost stranded 1,200 people on a beach in Benirras. Smaller fires followed in subsequent summers. These included Sant Josep in 2016 and the Sant Antoni region in August 2017, where the flames swept away just under 5 hectares of forest.
As well as fire, water also plays its part: from time to time, Ibiza experiences rainfalls that turn people's lives upside down! In August 2017, a storm hit the south of the island, causing power cuts, landslides, overflowing sewers and the outright disappearance of Port des Torrent beach! The following October, Majorca was hit by a storm. A storm that took nine lives in its wake. The most recent storm to hit the region was the one that hit the west and north of Formentera (Illetes and Cala Saona) on August 14, 2024, when the raging seas pushed some forty boats against the rocks. Although no fatalities were reported, there was material damage and injuries.
