The 12th of August this year is a date that has long been marked by everyone on the calendar. The historic total solar eclipse that Catalonia will experience will paralyze the country and, for a few moments, everyone will be looking at the sky. For this reason, the million-dollar question is obvious: will the weather allow us to enjoy this long-awaited event?

Yesterday's extreme heat peak left up to 40 °C in many parts of Ponent, the Pre-Pyrenees, and nearby areas. This figure was reached, for example, in municipalities such as Solsona, Montesquiu, La Pobla de Segur, Sant Romà d'Abella, Torres de Segre, Vilanova de Segrià, or Alcarràs. But the highest maximums were recorded in Lleida and Tremp, with 41.3 °C and 41 °C respectively. Temperatures rose especially in the interior, in Empordà, and in the Pyrenees, where the mercury will drop a bit today. An episode of intense heat that will still last for quite a few days, with some ups and downs.

The suffocating heat has returned. Yesterday was a very hot day and temperatures already reached 40°C in Ponent, but this figure was also approached in other inland areas, such as the Pre-Pyrenees. Highlights include the 40.4°C maximum in Lleida or the 39.9°C in Montesquiu (Osona) and Alcarràs (Segrià). And last night was also milder or warmer in general. The official start of the new episode of extreme heat in our region has been given, the umpteenth since the summer began and which will last for several days, at least for a week. As the heat thresholds are very likely to be exceeded for three consecutive days in several counties, this episode is considered a heatwave, especially in the interior of the country.

El Niño is already a reality. It has been developing for months in the Pacific Ocean with a constant warming of subtropical waters, and from the outset it has been labeled a super-Niño, as the oceanic temperature anomaly is the highest recorded to date. The latest data indicate that these waters have exceeded 4 ºC above the average, a value never seen since records began.

Thermometers have started to rise in recent hours. Yesterday the heat was already more intense, although still without major extremes. 38 ºC were exceeded in Ponent, as well as 37 ºC in the Pre-Pyrenees and in other parts of the interior. The night has been milder, and some torrid minimums have reappeared in the center of Barcelona and in the south of the country, highlighting the 26 ºC minimum in Alfacs (Montsià) and in the Raval neighborhood of the Catalan capital. And it is that from today the thermometers will skyrocket more and 40 ºC can already be reached in Ponent, as well as many maximums of 36 to 39 ºC in the rest of the interior. Meteocat has already issued the first warnings for intense heat from this Wednesday in the regions of Lleida, the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, Central Catalonia and the coast of Barcelona. This new episode of extreme heat will last at least until the middle of next week, and will probably become the fourth heatwave of the summer in Catalonia.

The total solar eclipse on August 12 will be historic, in our region. It is an exceptional phenomenon that, for the vast majority of the population, is only seen once in a lifetime without having to travel halfway around the world. For a few moments, in one part of the country, day will turn into night, the landscape will adopt an unusual light, and the sky will offer a unique spectacle that has awakened fascination, questions, and legends since time immemorial.

We leave behind a weekend marked by the change in air masses that has swept away the warm bubble and suspended African dust, with the entry of cold at altitude. All this has caused a clear cooling, as well as strong storms in various regions, especially during Saturday and early Sunday morning. A much more comfortable atmosphere - with bearable summer heat at midday and cool at night - that will still hold today. But this respite will not continue, as in the coming days a new irruption of warm North African air will push thermometers above average, with the return of intense heat. By mid-week, temperatures will reach 40 ºC again in western Catalonia.

Yesterday we experienced the last day of extreme heat of the week. Temperatures dropped inland, but still reached 38 or 39°C in Ponent, the Tremp basin, or the Pre-Pyrenees. It will be this weekend – the last of July – when the arrival of a clearly colder air mass will sweep away the warm bubble and the suspended African dust, with a north wind and a clear drop in thermometers.

Yesterday's heat peak in the interior of the country left maximums of up to 40 ºC or more in Ponent and the southern interior of the country. The extraordinary maximum of 43.2 ºC recorded in Vinebre (Ribera d’Ebre), 42.2 ºC in Torroja del Priorat, or 41.7 ºC in Ascó (Ribera d'Ebre) stand out. But while in some regions the thermometer hit its peak, in the Pyrenees the afternoon storms were stronger and more widespread than expected, a result of the same extreme heat accumulated. These precipitations left little remarkable records, but they suddenly cooled the atmosphere and were accompanied in some cases by hail or sleet. The 21 l/m² accumulated in Sant Joan de les Abadesses (Ripollès) stand out. The showers also reached the rest of the north of the Girona regions.

Attention today because thermometers will skyrocket inland: a peak of extreme heat will occur, which will be especially pronounced in Ponent and the Ebro Valley, where maximums of between 41°C and 44°C may be reached. 40°C will also be registered in other inland areas. Meteocat has activated alerts for intense heat this Thursday throughout the interior, the Pyrenees, and the pre-Pyrenees, with a red alert – the highest possible – in Segrià and Ribera d’Ebre. Alerts are also maintained in the west for Friday.

The heat and stuffiness are relentless and, in fact, yesterday they intensified, with highs returning to between 36 and 40 ºC inland. Temperatures around 40 ºC were reached, especially in Ponent and the southern interior, but also in some parts of central Catalonia or the northeastern interior, with extreme heat. Notably, 40.6 ºC were recorded in Cardona, in Bages.

Rain has been scarce in recent months, but yesterday afternoon showers and storms arrived in the Terres de l'Ebre which quickly spread to more areas of the coast and pre-coast. Notable were the 12 l/m² that fell in Falset (Priorat) or the 11 in Benissanet (Ribera d'Ebre). The surprise was that, in some cases, the storms were accompanied by brief sudden downpours, hail, or strong winds, a result of so much accumulated heat. This was the case in L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and the south of the city of Barcelona, where gusts close to 120 km/h were recorded and a squall occurred. A sudden and very strong wind that caused trees to fall and various damage.

The weekend has been marked by the same meteorological trend that has accompanied us for the last month, with intense heat and practically no rainfall anywhere. The temperature did not reach 40 °C, but it approached 38 °C or 39 °C in parts of the Ponent region and the interior of the Ebro valley, while on the coast the mugginess was very pronounced. All this in anticipation of a new thermal rise during the first days of this new week, although with hope placed on a possible progressive normalization of thermometers from Thursday or Friday onwards.

This Friday, temperatures once again exceeded 38°C or 39°C in the northeast and south interior of the country, as well as in the Pla de Bages. And this intense heat and stuffiness of the last few hours will continue throughout the weekend. The atmosphere will be one of full heatwave, and the temperature will still be between three and five degrees above the climatic average. Therefore, it will be necessary to keep sweating hard, although without reaching great extremes. Nights will remain sleepless, especially on the coast, pre-coast, south, and west, with a heavy feeling near the sea due to the high humidity. All this with absolute calm, general sunshine, and few nuances, and there will still be African dust in suspension.

Extreme heat is not giving any respite this summer, and data confirms that we are experiencing an exceptionally suffocating and unprecedented period. Catalonia has registered the hottest summer start since 1950, which is when homogeneous and well-distributed climate data for the entire country began to be available. This is the conclusion of the climate balance of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) published this Thursday.

The atmosphere has continued to be very warm and muggy these past few hours. Yesterday was a very heavy day, and tonight it has once again been warm and sleepless in several counties. Despite this oppressive atmosphere, yesterday the extremes of Wednesday were no longer reached, as temperatures dropped and 40 ºC were no longer recorded anywhere. The problem is that the high humidity makes the thermal sensation very pronounced, especially along the coast and pre-coast. Intervals of clouds and drizzles accompanied by mud contributed yesterday to increasing the feeling of mugginess, and only in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees did showers and thunderstorms fall with more force and eyes.

We wake up after a night that has been restless and very warm in general. Widespread tropical minimums have been recorded, but also many torrid ones on the coast, in the south, and in Ponent, with marked – and in some cases unbearable – sultriness on the coast and pre-coast. However, from today onwards, thermometers will start to drop, and the heat will become less extreme, with variable or partly cloudy skies and the risk of showers accompanied by mud in some regions. Despite everything, the very warm atmosphere, intense sultriness on the coast and pre-coast, and values above the climatic average will continue. No significant drop in mercury or a clearer unstable situation is expected for at least another seven to ten days.

This week's episode of intense heat and mugginess will experience a sudden peak this Wednesday. The night has been generally tropical, and scorching in spots along the coast, the south, and at high elevations of the pre-coastal area. And today, the strengthening of the re-heated wind between southwest and west will suddenly send temperatures soaring in many regions, especially along the coast, the pre-coastal area, the Ebro region, and Central Catalonia. Extreme wind and heat that will increase the risk of fire and poor conditions in the forests. It will be a scorching day, with highs reaching or exceeding 40 ºC in many areas of the pre-coastal region, Central Catalonia, Ponent, and the Ebro valley, as well as 35 ºC on the coast. Meteocat has activated the alert for intense heat throughout the country, with a red warning – the highest possible – for the Barcelona pre-coastal area.