Barcelona shatters its heat record in 113 years

BarcelonaThe second heatwave of the summer has reached its peak this Wednesday. The forecasts have been met, and it has been an exceptionally warm day, with many extremely high values in many regions that have broken several heat records. It can already be said that we are experiencing a historic episode, the umpteenth in recent years. This is the case of the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona, where the official maximum temperature at the manual station of the Royal Academy of Sciences and Arts of Barcelona (RACAB) has finally been 40.9 °C, an absolute record in 113 years of data, surpassing the previous one from July 2024. The automatic station of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) located at Fabra also recorded a maximum of 40.7 °C, the highest since the data series began, 112 years ago.

Furthermore, at a total of ten Meteocat stations with more than twenty years of data, absolute heat records have also been broken. Apart from the Fabra record, the records achieved this Wednesday are 44.1°C in Vinebre (Ribera d'Ebre) — the highest maximum so far this summer in all of Catalonia —, 42.3°C in Ascó (Ribera d'Ebre), 40.4°C in Sant Pere de Ribes (in the Garraf National Park) and in Nulles (Alt Camp), 40.3°C in Sant Martí Sarroca, 39.9°C in Vilafranca del Penedès (Alt Penedès), 39.5°C in Constantí (Tarragonès), 39.3°C in Vila-rodona (Alt Camp), and 37.6°C in Cunit (Baix Penedès).

These records are added to the six achieved on Tuesday in municipalities in Ponent, Priorat, and Ribera d'Ebre. On the other hand, the Belitres pass station in Portbou (Alt Empordà) registered a minimum of 31.9°C on the night of Tuesday to Wednesday. This is what is known as a tropical night — when the minimum does not drop below 30°C —, and it becomes the new record for nocturnal heat since there have been data in Catalonia.

The heat has been extreme everywhere this Wednesday, with readings of 40°C in many locations. Most maximums have ranged between 37°C and 42°C. Other notable data include that of El Prat airport, where today's 37.5°C is the highest value recorded since 1924, or Reus — with data since 1952 —, where temperatures have approached 40°C (39.9°C). Temperatures have particularly soared today in the northeast and along the coast and pre-coast. In Alt Empordà, temperatures have exceeded 42°C in municipalities such as Espolla or Cabanes, and at Girona airport, the maximum was 41.4°C. However, in these locations, the historical records achieved in recent years have not been surpassed.

Long and persistent heatwave

The night from Wednesday to Thursday is expected to be especially warm, with quite widespread tropical minimums and torrid in some regions, especially along the coast and pre-coast. It is not ruled out that some scorching minimums above 30°C may be repeated, especially in the city of Barcelona and in the north of the Alt Empordà. Looking ahead to this Thursday, similar records to those of this Wednesday may be repeated, with persistent and exceptional heat everywhere, and maximums again of 40°C or more in various regions. If the thermometers drop a degree, it will be an imperceptible change. Alerts for intense heat remain active throughout the territory.

The meteorological models show that the temperature will remain largely above what it should be for many more days, in a heatwave that will be very persistent and will especially embrace the Iberian Peninsula. On Friday and looking ahead to the weekend, the mercury will recede a little, although it will continue to be very hot. A slight respite. The heatwave will revive, and it could last a total of about ten days. It would not be until the second fortnight of July that temperatures would begin to drop more significantly and one could breathe better.