It's Hot
Use as an exclamation, like 'Wow, it's so hot!'. Very common and natural.
A good alternative meaning 'It's a hot day'. Uses the adjective 'caluroso' (hot/sweltering).
It's very hot in the city today.
It's so hot! Can you turn on the air conditioning?
The day is hot, perfect for the pool.
In Panama, it's always hot.
'Hace calor' is the universal and most common way to say the weather is hot across all of Latin America.
'Hace calor' is also the standard phrase in Spain. There is no significant difference for this expression.
'Hace calor' is standard. You might hear the slang exclamation '¡Qué calorón!' to express extreme heat.
In countries like Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Dominican Republic, 'Hace calor' is the norm. The exclamation '¡Qué calor!' is used very frequently in daily conversation.
Saying 'Es caliente' for the weather. — This is incorrect. In Spanish, we use the verb 'hacer' for impersonal weather descriptions. 'Es caliente' describes the inherent nature of an object (e.g., 'El fuego es caliente' - Fire is hot). For weather, always use 'Hace calor'.
Saying 'Está caliente' for the weather. — This is also incorrect. 'Está caliente' is used to describe the state of an object, like food or a drink. For example, 'La sopa está caliente' (The soup is hot). You cannot use it to describe the ambient temperature.
Saying 'Estoy caliente' to mean 'I feel hot'. — This is a very serious mistake to avoid. 'Estoy caliente' means 'I am horny/aroused' in a sexual sense. To say you feel hot because of the weather, you must say 'Tengo calor' (literally, 'I have heat').