Barcelona sees record number of 'tropical' and 'torrid' nights during summer months

Barcelona saw a record number of torrid nights this summer, defined as when temperatures stay above 25°C all night.

Between June and August, the Meteocat weather station in the Raval neighborhood of the city registered 36 torrid nights, the highest figure recorded in the two decades since data began being collected at this point, and higher than any Catalan weather station has recorded this century.

In addition, 88 of the 92 nights this summer in El Raval have been tropical – with temperatures not falling below 20°C, equaling the record set in 2022.

Throughout Catalonia, between June 1 and August 31, temperatures exceeded 35°C on two out of every three days, only the fourth time this has occurred this century.

Temperatures reached 40ºC on 16 days, equaling the record set in 2001.

Torrid summer

Temperatures stayed above 25ºC on one out of every three summer nights in the center of Barcelona, ​​with particularly warm conditions during the two heat waves: between June 20 and July 5 and between August 9 and 19, all nights met the definition for torrid.

The warmest night recorded in Catalonia was June 29 in Portbou, near the French border, where the mercury did not drop below 29.8ºC.

Temperatures of 40°C

The heat waves in August – one of the longest this century, according to Meteocat – and in June also led to new records for daytime temperatures.

Temperatures in Catalonia exceeded 40°C on a record 16 occasions between June and August.

On two out of three days over the summer, temperatures rose above 35ºC. 

The maximum temperature recorded this summer was 43.8ºC in Vinebre, in the southwest of Catalonia. 

Apart from July 18, 2023 – when 45.1ºC was recorded in Navata and the Darnius-Boadella reservoir and several stations exceeded 44ºC – this equals the highest temperature recorded by a Meteocat weather station.