Barcelona recorded a peak temperature of 40.7 C on Wednesday, the highest in 112 years of observations. Weather services reported the reading at the Fabra Observatory on the city’s western hills, surpassing the previous mark of 40 C set in July 2024. At El Prat Airport near sea level, the temperature reached 37.7 C, the highest since records began in 1924. Officials confirmed both stations as the city’s primary references. The Mediterranean normally tempers summer heat in Spain’s second-largest city. A heat wave that started Sunday is expected to continue until Thursday, with some areas exceeding 44 C. Red alerts were issued for parts of Catalonia and Valencia, while orange warnings covered central, southern and northeastern regions. An earlier heat wave in late June produced Spain’s highest June average temperature since 1950. Estimates suggest more than 1,000 heat-related deaths occurred last month. Researchers link the rising frequency of such events to human-driven climate change.
