Gran Canaria Weather: Is it really the best in the world?

Spend a few days in Gran Canaria and someone will tell you that the Canary Islands get the best weather in the world. Look up at the blue sky and you'll probably agree with them. But is it true? While it's definitely sunny in Gran Canaria most of the time it takes more than just sunshine to make good weather. We've tracked down the facts behind the myth and here's what we discovered: The Evidence Gran Canaria's capital Las Palmas is the city with the “most pleasant”weather in the world, according to a study by Thomas Whitmore, manager of the climatological research department at the University of Syracuse, published in 1996. Las Palmas came top out of 600 cities in the study. The south of Gran Canaria is much sunnier and warmer than Las Palmas the whole year round. The Temperature The average temperature in Gran Canaria is 18ºC during the winter compared to 8ºC for southern Europe and 0ºC for northern Europe. The temperature is also far more stable than anywhere else: On average there is only a 7ºC difference between the hottest and coolest temperatures every day. The south west of Gran Canaria is warmer than the rst of the island with average winter temperatures of 22ºC. Sunshine Gran Canaria gets over 7.5 hours of sunshine per day on average. Even in December, the 'cloudiest' month, we get over six hours of sunshine per day. There are sunnier spots on Earth but unless you want to holiday in Death Valley or the Gobi Desert, Gran Canaria is as good as it gets. The south of Gran Canaria is particularly sunny thanks the high centre of the island. It blocks the wind and the clouds coming from the north, creating a pocket of clear air. That's why it's often sunny in the south of Gran Canaria even when the rest of the island is cloudy. Stability In 2005 Tropical Storm Delta hit the Canary Islands. It caused serious damage ad even knocked over the famous Finger of God rock in Gran Canaria. We looked back and discovered that Delta was the only tropical Storm to hit the Canary Islands in 150 years. In fact, more tropical storms have hit Scotland than Gran Canaria since records began. You can see the map of historic storm tracks here. It's not just sunny and warm in Gran Canaria, it's also hurricane free! Rainfall It does rain in Gran Canaria but not very often. While there are parts of the Sahara that have never experienced rainfall Gran Canaria gets 21 rainy days per year. In December, the wettest month, we get an average of four rainy days. The figures show days with rain somewhere in Gran Canaria: The south coast gets the least days of rain on the island. Microclimates While the average weather in Gran Canaria is excellent some areas have unique microclimates. For example, the southwest is warmer and less windy than the rest of the island as it is sheltered from the predominant winds blowing from the north-north-east in Summer and  from north-east in winter. On balance, we believe that Gran Canaria, and specifically, the south and south west coast of the island, does have the best weather in the world: In the towns and resorts of Arguineguín, Puerto Rico and Mogán it's consistently warm, sunny and calm with stable temperatures and few storms. Since that's exactly where Cardenas Real estate are based we are proud to say that our properties get the best weather in the world!