The month of January has left unusual figures in Ibiza and Formentera, confirming what many residents had already perceived: a start of the year with unusually high temperatures and low rainfall.
According to the monthly climatological balance of the State Meteorological Agency (AEMET), it was the second warmest January in the Balearic Islands since records began in 1961, only surpassed by 2016. In addition, it was a dry month with episodes of strong winds, especially in the last days due to the squall Herminia.
Higher than normal temperatures
The average temperature in Ibiza during January was 12.3ºC, with an anomaly of 1.3ºC with respect to the usual values. On Formentera, the average rose to 13.9ºC, with a deviation of 1.4ºC above the expected. These figures reflect a particularly warm month on all the islands of the Balearic archipelago.
The highest temperatures were recorded on January 23, when the thermometer reached 23.2ºC in Ibiza and 21.2ºC in Formentera. At the other extreme, the coldest day was January 15, when Sant Joan de Labritja marked 0.4ºC, the lowest temperature of the month on the island. In Formentera, the coldest day was January 16, with 4.3ºC.
A month with below average rainfall
Rainfall was also well below normal in Pitiusas. In Ibiza, 21.8 l/m² was recorded, which is 53% less than normal, while in Formentera rainfall reached 17.0 l/m², 50% less than expected for January.
The rainiest day of the month in Ibiza was January 1, when 25 l/m² were collected in Sant Joan de Labritja. In Formentera, the day with the highest rainfall was January 16, with 8 l/m².
A windy January
The wind was also the protagonist in January, with several days of strong gusts in Ibiza and Formentera. At Ibiza Airport, eight days of strong winds were recorded, when the norm is seven. In Formentera there were four days with intense gusts.
The squall Herminia, which affected the Balearic Islands at the end of the month, left the maximum wind gust in Ibiza on January 28, with 76 km/h at the Airport, while in Formentera the wind reached 59 km/h on January 27.
Fewer waves in Pitiusas compared to the rest of the Balearic Islands
Another data highlighted by the climatological report is the presence of waves over three meters, although to a lesser extent in Ibiza and Formentera than in the rest of the archipelago. While in Menorca there were up to six days with large waves and in Mallorca five, in the Pitiusas there was only one day with waves of more than three meters.
