The heat has been the protagonist of this Sant Joan day, one of the warmest since records began. The temperature has once again exceeded 40°C in Ponent, although it is now far from the 41-43°C recorded on Monday and Tuesday, the peak of the heatwave. The temperature will begin to drop progressively from tonight, although in no case will we notice a significant cooling and we will remain with values above the climatic average. All in all, therefore, with no change in the meteorological situation in the short or medium term.

The heat has once again been very intense and torrid in recent hours, despite a slight decrease compared to the temperature peak on Monday, which reached up to 43 ºC as the most notable figure in Vilanova de Segrià. The third day of the heatwave once again pushed thermometers above 35 ºC in much of the interior, with over 40 ºC in Ponent and the Ebro interior. Notable figures include the 41.4 ºC reached in Alcarràs, 41.3 in Lleida, and 41.2 in Alfarràs (Segrià) as the highest readings on Tuesday. No records have been registered in Catalonia, but they have in France, as Monday afternoon, Monday night to Tuesday, and Tuesday have been the warmest in history since records began in the neighboring country, with numerous heat records and temperatures clearly above 40 ºC.

No cooling is seen in sight, with dust in suspension and a very warm Saint John's Eve.

The heatwave has peaked in recent hours. Temperatures rose even further yesterday, with between 8 and 13 degrees above average in inland areas and the Pyrenees, and many maximums ranged between 35 and 40 ºC in the pre-coastal areas and inland. But these figures were surpassed in Ponent, as well as in parts of the Ebro and other inland areas. The extraordinary 43 ºC recorded in Vilanova de Segrià stand out, which is the highest temperature reached so far this year in Catalonia. The peak of tropical and torrid minimums was also experienced in many areas (you will find all the most notable data on the extreme heat of recent hours at the end of this information).

The heat has intensified in recent hours, coinciding with the start of astronomical summer on Sunday, the day when maximum temperatures already reached and exceeded 40°C for the first time this year in the regions of Ponent. Notably, 41°C were reached in the city of Lleida (Segrià) and in El Poal (Pla d'Urgell). And the night was torrid in some coastal areas and in elevated zones of the coast and pre-coast, with minimums that did not drop below 25°C. This situation will continue and worsen today, with even more intense heat and the possibility of exceeding 42°C in Ponent and the Ebro interior. A first heatwave of the year that peaks this Monday, with extraordinarily high values, and this situation will accompany us, at least, until Tuesday or Wednesday.

The heat intensified clearly on Saturday, with the start of the weekend seeing maximum temperatures already reaching 38.8 °C in Alcarràs and exceeding the 38 °C mark in several places in the western and southern half of the country. This is only the beginning of a thermal escalation that will cause the mercury to rise every day, both day and night, and the first heatwave of the year. Suffocating days are expected, with up to 40 °C or more inland, and quite widespread sleepless nights, with the first torrid minimums around Barcelona. Meteocat has already issued the first official warnings for intense daytime heat in Ponent on Sunday, extending to many more regions on Monday. For its part, Civil Protection has activated the alert of the Procicat plan.

The heat was again very intense and full of heatstroke this Friday, with maximums around 37°C in Ponent. And attention because this weekend the thermometers will not stop rising. The atmosphere will be especially torrid from Sunday, when the first heatwave of the year will begin in our country, with extreme temperatures throughout the country for at least three consecutive days, both day and night. We expect suffocating days, with up to 40°C or more inland, and quite widespread sleepless nights. Meteocat has already issued the first official warnings for intense daytime heat in Ponent on Sunday and which will extend to many more regions on Monday. For its part, Civil Protection has activated the Procicat plan alert.

Starting Sunday, this episode will officially begin, coinciding with the start of summer.

The heat has continued to be very intense and fully summer-like in recent hours. But the mercury did not spike as much yesterday as on Wednesday inland, when temperatures exceeded 38 ºC in Ponent and the Ebro. Today there will be few changes, but from the weekend onwards temperatures will spike again. The anticyclone and the gust of very warm air from North Africa will strengthen and fully embrace the Iberian Peninsula and a large part of Europe, with extreme heat, especially in the west of the continent, where suffocating conditions are expected and we will see if there are any heat records in a month of June. In Catalonia, all this will result in a heatwave that will last at least until Saint John's Eve, with maximums of up to 40 ºC or more inland and tropical or torrid nights in many regions. Meteocat maintains the heatwave alert between Sunday and Tuesday, especially in the interior of the country.

Far from ending, the heatwave we are experiencing in Catalonia has intensified in recent hours, with temperatures yesterday reaching over 38°C in the Ebre interior and Ponent – notably 38.7°C in the city of Lleida itself – and 35°C in other inland areas. After such a scorching day, today the mercury will recede slightly temporarily, although the atmosphere will remain very warm. But all eyes are on the weekend, when the heat will be more extreme and the first heatwave of the summer in our region will very likely begin. An episode that will last at least until Sant Joan, with many highs of 35 to 40°C. Meteocat has already issued a prior warning in this regard for intense heat between Sunday and at least Tuesday, especially in the inland counties.

The heatwave gives no respite and in these last hours it has intensified a little more. Yesterday, maximum temperatures widely exceeded 35°C in Ponent and in the south. Notably, 37.5°C were reached in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre) and 37.4°C in Seròs (Segrià). But locally, 37°C were also recorded in some other inland locations, such as Artés (Bages). Today we will add a few more degrees, and in the coming days temperatures will remain very high for the season, with values more typical of the summer dog days than mid-June, and tropical nights will occur in coastal areas. In fact, it is probable that from the end of the week the first heatwave of summer will arrive in Catalonia, with extreme heat that will push the mercury up to 40°C for the first time this year in the hottest inland areas. Meteocat has already issued a prior warning in this regard for intense heat between Sunday and at least Tuesday.

We have started the week with a very warm climate again for the time of year everywhere. Yesterday's highs exceeded 30°C in many cases, and 35°C towards the west and the Ebro valley. And last night, tropical lows were recorded, especially in the Barcelona area, with lows not dropping below 24°C, for example in Raval or at the Fabra observatory. A heatwave that will not let up in the coming days, as it will continue and even intensify throughout the week. By mid or late week, temperatures could reach 39°C or 40°C in the hottest areas of the west of the country. As can be seen in the following map, temperatures at about 1,500 meters altitude will reach nearly 25°C, a value more typical of the warmest days of the year.

A new pocket of warm air from North Africa will keep the atmosphere fully summer-like throughout this new week, after highs of 36 or 37 ºC were already reached this weekend in Ponent and the southern interior. This hot air will lower atmospheric pressure and generate a small thermal low that will favor the formation of afternoon thunderstorms, especially in the Pyrenees. In fact, some already reappeared yesterday, accumulating up to 25 l/m² in La Bonaigua (2,200 m, Pallars Sobirà), 15 l/m² in Puigcerdà (Cerdanya), and 3 l/m² in Núria (Ripollès).

A pocket of warm air from North Africa is making the atmosphere feel like mid-summer. This hot air will favor the formation of a thermal low over the Iberian Peninsula, which will cause the thermometer to rise and also form afternoon thunderstorms in the Pyrenees. This weekend, thermometers are generating highs higher than what would be expected for this time of year, with values that have exceeded 36°C in Empordà and Central Catalonia. For example, yesterday in Cabanes (Alt Empordà) and Artés (Bages) they reached up to 36.4°C. In Lleida or El Poal, they reached 35.6°C.