Your first Spanish summer: acclimatising if you come from a cooler place

Key rules

• Midday: Stay out of the sun and avoid strenuous activity from roughly 12:00 to 17:00.
• Water: Drink steadily through the day without waiting to feel thirsty.
• Adapting: Expect to adapt over 1 to 2 weeks, and build up your time in the heat slowly.
• Higher risk: Older people, children and people with chronic illness adapt more slowly and need extra care.

Give yourself one to two weeks

Your body will adapt, but not on day one. Adapting to heat takes about 1 to 2 weeks of repeated exposure. Most of the change comes in the first 4 to 7 days. Plan light days at first and build up the time you spend outside a little each day.

Older people, children and people with a chronic illness adapt more slowly and less completely. If that is you, or someone in your family, take extra care and speak to a doctor.

Move your day around the heat

Avoid direct sun and hard physical effort in the middle of the day, roughly 12:00 to 17:00. Do your walking, sport, errands and outdoor chores early in the morning or late in the evening.

This is why Spanish life runs later than you may be used to. Shops and offices often pause in the afternoon, and people eat and go out late. Follow that rhythm rather than fight it.

If you must go out in the middle of the day:

• Stay in the shade where you can.
• Wear a hat and light clothing.
• Use sunscreen.
• Carry water and sip it regularly.

During a heat alert, be stricter about all of this.

Drink before you are thirsty

Sip water or other fluids all day. Thirst shows up late, especially in older people and children, so do not wait for it.

• Adults: a typical figure is 1.5 to 2 litres a day. Drink more if you sweat a lot or work outdoors.
• Babies and young children: offer water often.
• Avoid alcohol, caffeine and very sugary drinks. They do not hydrate you well.
• Eat light meals with water-rich foods such as fruit and vegetables.
• If you have kidney or heart problems, or take diuretics or are on restricted fluids, ask your doctor how much to drink.

Adjust your expectations

Feeling tired, slower and less hungry in the first weeks is normal. Do not expect to train, walk or work at your usual pace. Rest when you need to, and keep your home as cool as you can. The checklist below covers how to prepare it.

If you leave and come back

The adaptation fades within a few weeks without heat. If you spend time away in a cooler place, build up your exposure again gradually when you return.

Warning signs

Stop, get into the shade or a cool room and drink if you feel dizzy, faint, sick, or have a headache or cramps. If symptoms do not ease quickly, or someone is confused or collapses, call 112.

Timeline and deadlines

• Build up your time in the heat gradually: from your first day, repeated daily

• Your heart rate drops and you start sweating earlier: within the first 4 to 7 days of repeated heat

• Your body is fully adapted: after about 10 to 14 days

Heat-ready home checklist before summer

• Fit blinds, awnings (toldos) or reflective film on windows that face the sun.

• Check that your shutters (persianas) close properly, so you can shut them on sunny sides during the day.

• Service your fans and any air conditioning before the hot months start.

• Buy a room thermometer and keep it in the room where you spend most time.

• Stock drinking water and oral rehydration salts.

• Put together a small first aid kit and keep your regular medicines in it or beside it.

• Store medicines below 25 °C, or the temperature on the leaflet, away from direct sun and hot bathrooms. Never leave them in the car.

• Keep a cool bag and ice packs for insulin and other refrigerated medicines, and stop the packs touching the medicine directly.

• Ask your doctor or pharmacist about the heat if you take diuretics, blood pressure pills or antidepressants. Do not stop any medicine on your own.

• Lay out lightweight clothes, a hat and UV-protective sunglasses.

• Buy broad-spectrum sunscreen of SPF 30 or higher, or SPF 50 for fair skin and children.

• Find your coolest room, often a lower floor or north-facing one, and plan to spend the hottest hours there.

• Find the nearest cool public places, such as climate shelters, and note their opening hours.

• Save 112 and your local health centre in your phone, and sign up for weather warnings from AEMET, Spain's weather agency.

• Set out water and shade for pets.

• Arrange to check on elderly or vulnerable neighbours, and make sure older residents' electricity supply is working.

Frequently asked questions

How many litres of water should I drink a day in the heat?

Adults typically need about 1.5 to 2 litres of water a day, and more if you sweat heavily or work outdoors. Drink small amounts often instead of waiting until you feel thirsty, because thirst shows up late. Avoid alcohol, caffeine and very sugary drinks, and ask a doctor if you are on diuretics or a fluid limit.

How long does it take my body to get used to the heat?

Your body usually takes 1 to 2 weeks of repeated exposure to get used to the heat. Much of the change, such as a lower heart rate and earlier sweating, happens in the first 4 to 7 days.

Which hours of the day should I avoid being outside in hot weather?

Avoid direct sun and hard exercise from roughly 12:00 to 17:00, and move activity to early morning or late evening. Some regions say 11:00 to 17:00 or 12:00 to 18:00. If you must go out, stay in the shade, wear a hat and light clothing, and use sunscreen.