Barcelona crumbles its heat record in 113 years

BarcelonaThe second heatwave of the summer 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 shattered 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 one in place until now, that of July 2024. The automatic station of the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat) located at Fabra also registered a maximum of 40.7 °C, the highest since the centennial data series began.

Furthermore, in a total of ten Meteocat stations with more than twenty years of data, absolute heat records have also been broken. Apart from Fabra's, 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 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 known as a tropical night — when the minimum does not drop below 30°C —, and it becomes the new nocturnal heat record since data has been available in Catalonia.

The heat has been extreme everywhere this Wednesday, with readings of 40°C in many locations. Most of the maximums have ranged between 37°C and 42°C. Some other data highlights include that of 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-coastal areas. In Alt Empordà, temperatures have exceeded 42°C in municipalities like 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 scorching heat in some regions, especially along the coast and pre-coastal areas. 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 Alt Empordà. Facing this Thursday, similar records to those of this Wednesday can be repeated, with persistent and exceptional heat everywhere, and maximums again of 40°C or more in several regions. If the thermometers drop a degree, it will be an imperceptible change. Alerts for intense heat remain active throughout the territory.

Meteorological models show that the temperature will remain widely above what is expected for several more days, in a heatwave that will be very persistent and will especially embrace the Iberian Peninsula. On Friday and facing the weekend, the mercury will recede a little, although it will continue to be very hot. A slight respite. The heatwave will intensify, and it could last for a total of about ten days. It would not be until the second half of July that temperatures would begin to drop more significantly and one could breathe better.