Heat wave panic

Honestly, those are pretty typical temps for that part of Spain. You could think about spending time in the white villages where it may be a bit cooler, or go to the coast by Malaga. Perhaps a place with a pool? We stayed at La Mejorana in Grazelema. Its beautiful and in the mountains and has a pool.

EDITED TO ADD: As usual, Carlos has good ideas. We were in the Basque area last fall and really enjoyed it San Sebastian has a huge and beautiful beach. Its a really pretty city with amazing and fun food.

Yes that it typical, though it has been very hot especially in Spain this summer, more than other years, so may be even worse. I was just in Alicante, and it was too hot, I couldn't do anything outside really from 11 am to 5 pm. I'm in Barcelona now, and it is still so hot and humid, can't sleep, terrible.

Let this be a lesson to you and others who see this, there is a drop off in tourism during the summer months in Andalucia for a reason, with climate change it is more hot than ever. I'd say head to Cadiz or Malaga, or try to head north for Galicia or Basque Country. Bilbao's weather is looking good next several days.

Not knowing where you currently are, go and enjoy yourselves. The heat is what it is, so slow down the pace and ensure you have plenty of water. Unless you can travel October-April it is going to be warm/hot in Andalucía. When walking around pay attention to places where there is shade. Even Grazalema near Ronda, suggested by Jules, will be in the 90s. If you can alter the itinerary and not lose money, then it will be cooler in the north of the country.

On our last trip to Granada in September 2014 southern Spain was in a heat wave. Our hotel in Granada was at the Alhambra complex so it was easy to go to it to get out of the heat.

Depending where you are staying, old town Cordoba is all small lanes and alleys so you are often in shade. Granada may be more exposed, but when you can, do evening activities.
People walk slower. They use hand fans - easily available in Cordoba. Though it may be annoying at eye level, this is the time to pull out your umbrella and use it as a parasol. Or throw pride to the wind, and use a wet wrung out bandana or similar around your neck. Other people use those snap cool towels, but that may not be easily accessible.
The only alternative places are the north coast.

I would like to add that high heat in Spain does have a silver lining. The life on the streets after 6 pm, and going into the wee hours, is a unique experience. Many tourists go to bed at "normal" times so they can work on their to-do list of sights and monuments the next day. Travelers interested in seeing how people actually live have a unique opportunity to have a beer on a terrace at 9pm, then dinner, then a stroll. Make up the sleep the next afternoon!

In all seriousness, is a dry heat? That, to me, makes a difference. Humid and 105 would be pretty intolerable. Also, do your accommodations have AC?

Any advice would depend on the reasons for your panic. What is it that you're so concerned about?

There's currently a severe heatwave hitting southern Europe with temperatures forecast to reach 48°c in some places and no amount of shade, fans or loose clothing is going to make that bearable. I visited the Palace of Knossos in Crete on Monday and the temperature was 37°, walking around in that heat was too much so another 10° would be absolute hell.

In such heat I don't want to be traipsing around towns and cities, I want to be in water, a pool or the sea.

FYI: "Nearly 62,000 people died from record-breaking heat in Europe last summer."
(just over 11,000 in Spain)
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/10/world/deadly-europe-heatwave-2022-climate/index.html
https://time.com/6292986/europe-heat-deaths-2022-climate-change/
source, Nature Medicine: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02419-z

JC makes a good point, the above advice about just bringing water being in the shade wearing loose-fitting clothing is well meaning but honestly is not practical if everyday is 100+ degrees. These days the abnormal has become the new normal, and each year is hotter and hotter in Spain. Most locals in Andalucia actually don't stick around the interior during this time of year, and make their escape to the coast around Cadiz or Malaga.

Recently, the heat in southern Spain has gone from plain annoying to downright dangerous.

I suppose you could drink lots of water and only see sites in the morning and evening, living like a local, that is a local who does not have the means to escape the heat, but why? This is your vacation, I'd pivot and find someplace cooler. Vacations are precious and I personally wouldn't see a place that could put your health at risk and to be frank, unpleasant with that heat, no matter how many nice attractions to see. I've lived in a desert before with extreme heat and in that kind of heat, shade and water isn't enough. Personally, I'd be panicking. Heat stroke is a very real thing. And if you do decide to go, take a look at adding electrolytes to the water.

We will be leaving for our Spain trip in 2 weeks (Barcelona, Granada, Cordoba, Seville, Cadiz, Madrid) and I have been watching the weather closely. For US families with kids like us, summer break may be the only time for extensive travel. Now is blazing, but it's not going to be less blazing in the future... so either we visit now or possibly never. Also, we do not have health or mobility issues to factor in.

I did make shifts to our schedule to allay my creeping anxiety, e.g. changing our hotel to one next to the Alhambra to shorten the walk. I cut our Seville stay from 4 days to 2 to jaunt down to Cadiz. We plan to get up early, siesta in the afternoon, and go out in the evening when we can. Temps before noon have not gotten past the early 90's, so that is doable (even if not ideal).

I'm hoping the upside to this is that there will be fewer people at sites.
Bottom line: I'm being mindful, controlling what I can, and hoping for the best.

If you go, please report back, it will be good info to have before our trip.

We went to Mesa Verde one summer with our four kids, ages 7-13. We camped. I did a lot of planning. I packed hats, water bottles and sunglasses. One thing that worked super well was gatorade powder. When our kids were that young, we typically focused on water. They love gatorade and so it was kind of a treat and it does have some value for preventing/helping with dehydration. We just started them with gatorade in their water bottles at the beginning of the day.

Thanks for all the advice. To those who have said these temps are typical, I was expecting 90-95 degree temps; I knew it would be hot. But that extra 10 degrees due to the heat wave makes all the difference. Also, as one of the posters said, this is the only time I can take this trip so I didn't have the luxury of choosing a different month.
That said, my family and I decided we still still go. I have made sure our airbnb has working air conditioning. I think we will need to slow our schedule down and do activities in the morning and evening, and just siesta during midday. I do have a friend with a house in Malaga and we are renting a car, so if we need to drive there for a beach day we can do that. We'll just try to make the best of it.

Carlos would have more info, but there are mountains right by Granada. I believe people ski there in the winter. It would have to be cooler there, with a car, maybe go there for a day or midday?

When do the temps go down? If I plan Seville, Cordoba, Ronda & Granada... is it cooler in September, October ... or wait til November?

Thank you!

@CTwanderer, We were in Andalusia in November. We loved the weather (and Andalusia). For us short sleeves, lightweight pants. Granada was slightly cooler than the other cities because of the elevation. I'm told September can still be plenty hot.

If you want to know how bad it can be, you need to look at actual, day-by-day historical weather data rather than averages, and you need to look at several years' worth of statistics. I use timeanddate.com.

Seville September 2022

Use the pull-down box at the right above the graph to change the month and year. Seville is the hottest place you're likely to encounter. You might want to check for too-cool temperatures in Granada. For that you'll need to type Granada in the Search box at the top right.

Thanks Jules and Acraven! very helpful

I hear you, I am supposed to spend 2 days in Seville and I was debating switching to Bilbao, but already reserved in Seville with a few morning tours. I also got an air bnb with a pool, and also rented a car to take the family to the beach for a few hours. So there are options. I think I will stick it out and still go to Seville. I plan to enjoy a Flamenco show one evening as well. Good luck to you and your family.