Extraordinarily long heatwave: it will not end until next week

BarcelonaThe second heatwave of the summer is already here: thermometers have shot up and have already reached or exceeded 40°C in several inland areas. In fact, Tuesday was the hottest day of the summer so far, as 43°C was reached or exceeded in the Lleida plain and especially in the southern interior. Up to six Meteocat stations with more than 20 years of data broke their absolute heat record in Ribera d'Ebre, Segrià, Pla d'Urgell, and Priorat. An episode of extreme heat that will peak on Wednesday in most of the country. But, although the mercury will recede a little by the weekend, there is no clear end in sight for this heatwave, which is expected to be extraordinarily long and not end until next week.

This was confirmed this Tuesday by the Meteorological Service of Catalonia (Meteocat), which until now predicted that the heatwave would last at least until this Thursday, but for now it has already extended the alert until next week. A situation that makes the risk of fire even more critical.

Wednesday, the worst day

After a suffocating Tuesday, the worst day of this week will be Wednesday, when thermometers will hit their peak in many cases. An extraordinarily torrid day, with many highs ranging between 38°C and 41°C inland, in the pre-coastal areas, and in the Pre-Pyrenean valleys, especially in the western part. But in Ponent and the Ribera d'Ebre, the highs will range between 42°C and 44°C. Values between 6 and 11 degrees above average in many cases, considering that we are in the warmest month of the year.

All of Catalonia is on alert for extreme heat. Meteocat extends the alerts for very high danger of intense heat – the maximum possible – on Wednesday in the regions of Ponent and Ebre, a large part of the coast and pre-coastal areas of Barcelona, and most of the Girona regions. In the rest of the territory, the danger is high, with the exception of the Pyrenees, where it is moderate.

Regarding the nights, they are proving heavy and difficult to sleep in many regions. In fact, tropical minimum temperatures will become widespread with the peak of the heatwave. Only in the Pyrenees or Pre-Pyrenees will sleeping be better. There will also be torrid minimum temperatures on the coast, with nighttime values clearly above 25°C. Meteocat has also activated the alert for nighttime heat in several regions.

A heatwave that will also strongly hit a large part of the Iberian Peninsula, the western Mediterranean, and other areas of Western Europe, especially western France. In these areas, temperatures will easily exceed 40°C again, as has already happened in the recent episodes of extreme heat this year.

Brief heat break

Thursday and Friday will continue the extreme and unbridled heat, although in some cases the temperature will drop by a degree. A slight, practically imperceptible decrease that will continue over the weekend. In any case, it will remain very hot, with many highs between 33°C and 38°C. But all of this will be temporary, because from Sunday onwards and especially at the beginning of next week, thermometers will once again reach their peak, with values very similar to those that will be reached on Wednesday. Therefore, we will continue for quite a few more days under the effects of the subtropical anticyclone and this gust of very warm air of North African origin.

It will be necessary to see if this second summer heatwave shatters more historic heat records, both in terms of readings and duration. A situation reminiscent of last August, when Catalonia also experienced an extraordinarily long and historic heatwave. Maps indicate that by the end of next week, things might improve.