How to Say "Heat Wave" in Spanish

ola de calor

/ola de kaloɾ/from spelling rules

The English phrase "heat wave" is translated into Spanish as ola de calor.

ola de calor is used to describe a prolonged period of abnormally hot weather.

What does it mean word for word?

The phrase is composed of ola (wave), de (of) and calor (heat).

In the Yucatán Peninsula of Mexico, canícula may be used to refer to the entire hot and dry summer season.

To make the phrase plural, you pluralize the noun ola to olas while keeping de calor the same, resulting in olas de calor.

/ola de kaloɾ/

In many Spanish-speaking countries, people describe feeling an ola de calor by saying estoy sofocado, which implies being suffocated by the heat rather than just being warm.
The word ola may have originated from the Arabic word hawl, which can mean both a 'surge' of the sea and a 'fright'.

Muchas aves mueren a causa de la ola de calor.
Many birds are dying due to the heat wave.
This sentence shows the effect of an ola de calor on wildlife.
Tatoeba #13593916 by ecorralest101, translation #6579248 by Eccles17
Estamos en la segunda semana de una implacable ola de calor.
We're in the second week of an unrelenting heat wave.
This sentence describes the duration of an ola de calor.
Tatoeba #2465759 by teskmon, translation #932923 by darinmex
El archipiélago japonés ha sido golpeado por una terrible ola de calor.
The Japanese archipelago is struck by a terrible heat wave.
This sentence describes a specific location being affected by an ola de calor.
Tatoeba #459156 by Shishir, translation #459123 by Scott
Esta semana estamos experimentando una ola de calor sin precedentes en la región.
This week, we are experiencing an unprecedented heat wave in the region.

Daniel and Lucía are talking in a cafe during summer.

Daniel

Esta ola de calor es insoportable.
This heat wave is unbearable.
Lucía

Sí, hace demasiado calor para salir.
Yes, it is too hot to go out.
Daniel

Espero que la ola de calor termine pronto.
I hope the heat wave ends soon.
Lucía

Ojalá, no puedo dormir con este clima.
I hope so, I cannot sleep in this weather.

Sources

Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry ola de calor, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
Word origins: Wiktionary entries calor, de, ola, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.

⭐Share⭐ to appreciate human effort 🙏