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.

The weekend has started with a meteorological tone practically identical to the rest of the week, with very high temperatures that on Saturday again approached 39 °C in Ponent and exceeded 35 °C in practically any point of the interior. An intense and long-lasting heat that will continue also for Sunday and early next week, with maximums that will again seek the 40 °C mark and generalized tropical or torrid minimums.

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.

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.

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.

The extreme heat has given a little respite this weekend, with very high values, but without the records of a few days ago. Throughout the week, temperatures will rise and the peak of the new episode of extreme heat will arrive, which will be even more intense than the previous ones. However, the presence of thin clouds or suspended dust can dampen the radiation and prevent the thermometer from soaring so much in the end. We are fully at the gates of what will be the third heatwave of the summer, when we will not have even recovered from the second one. Its peak will arrive between Wednesday and Friday. The stuffiness will make it impossible to rest on the coast, with torrid nights. In Ponent or Ebre, thermometers could reach or exceed 42°C maximum in the middle of the week.

We wake up after a night of temperature contrasts. It has been warm and tropical in many regions, and scorching in parts of the coast and elevated areas of the pre-coast. The scorching night has even been repeated in Portbou (Alt Empordà), where temperatures have not dropped below 31 ºC all night. This location recorded the warmest night since records began in our region, specifically the night of Tuesday to Wednesday, with a minimum of 31.9 ºC. Also noteworthy are the minimums of 28.8 ºC at the Fabra observatory and 28.6 ºC in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona. In contrast, these figures differ greatly from the coolness experienced in some areas, such as the valleys of the Pyrenees, where temperatures have dropped below 10 ºC.

The heatwave's peak continues to shatter records. The most notable is what was reached at the Fabra observatory in Barcelona, where temperatures exceeded 40 ºC and the absolute heat record, which had been in place since July 2024 at this location, was broken. Specifically, 40.8 ºC were provisionally reached at the Fabra station of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona (RACAB), and 40.5 ºC were confirmed at the Meteocat station. This is a figure that stands out particularly because in the more than 113 years of records at this observatory, such figures have never been reached.

The week has started with suffocating weather, and in some places yesterday was the hottest day of the summer so far, with values similar to those recorded on June 22nd, when the first heatwave occurred. We've had two heavier nights of sleep, especially on the coast, pre-coast, and in the south, with many tropical and some torrid minimums, especially in coastal stretches and in the north of Alt Empordà. Yesterday the maximums already made a significant leap forward and were around 40 ºC in many inland areas, especially in the south and Ponent. Notable were the almost 42 ºC maximum in Vinebre (Ribera d’Ebre) or the 41 in Lleida, and even on the pre-coast of Barcelona they approached 40 ºC, with up to 39.2 ºC in Vallirana (Baix Llobregat). A situation of persistent extreme heat that facilitated the generation of simultaneous fires. The meteorological conditions have improved during the night and have helped to advance favorably in the extinction tasks, with a drop in temperature and less wind.

The meteorological chronicle has, for weeks, been a simple collection of heat, sun, and more heat, with practically no new developments or notable changes. This weekend has not broken this monotony, with heat that has been intensifying and will do so even more during this new week. On Sunday, temperatures already approached 40 ºC inland, and this night has been tropical in many places, and torrid in coastal stretches, highlighting the 28.5 ºC minimum in Portbou (Alt Empordà) due to the reheated tramuntana wind, or the 27.6 ºC in the Raval neighborhood of Barcelona. The temperature will continue its relentless rise, which has multiplied the alerts for intense heat in many regions by Meteocat. The alerts extend throughout the country, and are red - the maximum possible danger - especially on Wednesday. The second heatwave of the summer is here, and it will be long and suffocating, as it will last for almost the entire week.

The heat intensified on Saturday, after a few days of respite with more controlled heat. It is the prelude to a new heatwave that will start this Sunday and push the mercury up to 42 or 43 °C in Ponent and the Ebro basin, with fully sweltering heat that will also reach the rest of the country. It will not be as intense a heatwave as the one we suffered in June, but we will once again be well above the meteorological average for early July. All this with a sun that will prevent any possible cloudiness or showers and with a risk of fire that remains high.

We continue to be very attentive to the evolution of the serious fire in Baix Empordà, which has been burning uncontrollably since Friday morning. The wind will continue in the coming hours, first with tramuntana and then turning to marinada. Consult here the expected evolution of the meteorological conditions in the area. All this after a very warm Friday that left us many maximums of 32°C to 37°C, but even more so in the interior of the Ebro, with almost 39°C maximum in Benissanet (Ribera d'Ebre). A weekend is starting that will kick off the second heatwave of the summer. The mercury will soar especially from Sunday, when this episode will officially begin and will last until the middle of next week. In fact, Meteocat has already activated the first alerts on Sunday for this new heatwave, which will last at least until Wednesday.

The Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) has issued a notice for the second heatwave of the short summer we've had starting Sunday and until at least Wednesday of next week. The subtropical anticyclone and the warm air mass from North Africa will once again fully affect southwestern Europe, which will send thermometers soaring and make the heat extreme again, with many highs from 30 to 40 ºC, higher in the hottest inland areas, mugginess and over 30 ºC on the coast and new sleepless nights in many regions. A situation that will affect more areas, especially in southwestern Europe.