Live forecast for Maspalomas Beach (San Bartolome (Gran Canaria), Las Palmas). Water temperature, wave height, wind, beach index 1-10 and best time to swim. Coordinates 27.7430, -15.5970.
Maspalomas combines beach, dunes and palm grove in a protected landscape (Special Nature Reserve). Its 400 hectares of moving dunes reach the ocean. The 1890 lighthouse marks the start of the promenade towards Meloneras.
Orientation: south, approximate length 2700 m, sand type: fine golden sand. Holds a current Blue Flag award. Services: showers, toilets, beach bars, sunbed rental, a naturist area and step-free access. Access: Global buses 1, 30, 36 and 66 from Las Palmas and the airport.
The WhatAWeather beach index combines six meteorological variables into a 0-10 score: air temperature (best above 22 °C), sea surface temperature from the Open-Meteo Marine model (best above 20 °C), wind speed (best below 20 km/h), significant wave height (best below 0.8 m), cloud cover (best below 30 %) and accumulated rainfall (best below 0.5 mm). A value of 8-10 means perfect, 6-7 good, 4-5 acceptable and below 4 we advise against swimming.
For the official microbiological status of Spanish bathing waters consult the NAYADE system run by the Spanish Ministry of Health. WhatAWeather displays an informational jellyfish warning when sea temperature exceeds 23 °C and the wind blows from the east (levante), a situation statistically correlated with sightings in the Mediterranean and the Strait of Gibraltar. This is an orientation indicator and does not replace official Red Cross or city council bulletins.
The sea is at its warmest in September, averaging 24.5 °C, and at its coldest in February, at 20.2 °C. On land the month with the highest daily maxima is August, which averages 30.7 °C.
The sea stays above 22 °C for 6 months of the year (June, July, August, September, October and November), a comfortable range for long swims without a wetsuit. The gap between air and sea temperature is the figure that misleads most: in August the air reaches 30.7 °C against 24.3 °C in the water.
In July and August the mean wave height is around 1.1 m, a manageable sea, with a small shorebreak that rarely stops anyone swimming. In winter the mean climbs to 1.2 m, with the annual peak in March at 1.3 m. The prevailing summer wind comes from the west-southwest, and the windiest month is February, when daily maximum gusts average 21 km/h.
July averages 12.8 hours of effective sunshine a day and 0.4 rain days across the month. The driest month of the year is August, with 0.3 rain days, and the wettest April, with 5.8; over the year as a whole it rains on about 34 days.
| Month | Max. air | Min. air | Sea | Wave | Max. gust | Rain days |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 21.5 | 15.5 | 20.9 | 1.20 | 20 | 2.0 |
| February | 21.9 | 15.6 | 20.2 | 1.10 | 21 | 3.2 |
| March | 22.6 | 16.0 | 20.3 | 1.30 | 20 | 4.8 |
| April | 23.0 | 16.8 | 21.1 | 1.10 | 19 | 5.8 |
| May | 24.7 | 18.2 | 21.9 | 1.00 | 19 | 3.2 |
| June | 26.0 | 19.7 | 23.1 | 0.90 | 19 | 1.8 |
| July | 29.7 | 22.3 | 23.7 | 1.10 | 20 | 0.4 |
| August | 30.7 | 23.7 | 24.3 | 1.10 | 19 | 0.3 |
| September | 28.1 | 21.8 | 24.5 | 0.90 | 17 | 2.2 |
| October | 27.3 | 21.2 | 24.0 | 0.90 | 17 | 4.4 |
| November | 24.8 | 19.0 | 23.1 | 1.00 | 18 | 3.6 |
| December | 22.6 | 16.9 | 21.9 | 1.20 | 20 | 2.6 |
These are climatological means, not a forecast: they describe what has happened on average over the past decade, and any single day can depart a long way from them. The sea column holds the mean of the daily maximum sea-surface temperature, and the wave column the mean of the day's highest significant wave height. The beach index above, by contrast, is computed from today's forecast, combining air and sea temperature, waves, wind, cloud and rain — which is why it can contradict the table on any given day.
