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Barcelona will continue to hover around 34 ºC until Thursday: relief will arrive on Friday
Barcelona will still have to endure several days of intense heat before noticing a clear change. This Monday, 17 August, Barcelona’s coast remains under a yellow warning for maximum temperatures that may locally reach 36 ºC, and the forecast keeps values very high until Thursday. The most significant drop will arrive from Friday.
This Monday afternoon remains hot, with around 29 ºC in the city and a forecast high of around 33 ºC. The high-temperature warning will remain active until 21:00, so the final hours of the afternoon will still be especially uncomfortable in heavily built-up areas with little shade.
There will be hardly any change on Tuesday 18. Barcelona will again reach around 33 ºC, with sunny to mostly clear skies, while the low will remain close to 25 ºC. The night will again be tropical and will make it hard for homes that have accumulated heat during the day to cool down.
The hottest spell of this new week will arrive between Wednesday and Thursday. On Wednesday 19, highs of around 34 ºC and lows of 26 ºC are expected, while on Thursday 20 temperatures will again hover around 34 ºC during the day, although the night will begin to improve slightly, at around 23 ºC.
The change will come on Friday 21. The high will fall to approximately 30 ºC and the low will be close to 22 ºC, with the possibility of a shower. It will be the first truly noticeable drop after several consecutive days of very high temperatures.
The weekend looks set to be even more bearable. Saturday 22 could stay around 28 ºC, with rain or showers, while Sunday 23 is expected to see around 29 ºC and variable skies. Lows will remain close to 22 ºC, far from the 25 or 26 ºC forecast for the most stifling nights of this week.
The episode comes after a particularly harsh summer in Barcelona. July already produced extraordinary readings: Observatori Fabra reached 40.9 ºC on 8 July, its highest daily maximum temperature since observations began in 1914. Therefore, although these days are once again very hot, they cannot be described as the absolute peak of the whole summer.
Until Friday's drop arrives, it is advisable to avoid prolonged physical exertion during the central hours of the day, drink water frequently and pay special attention to older people, children and people with chronic illnesses. The most welcome change will probably be felt at night: moving from lows close to 26 ºC to values around 22 ºC will finally allow flats and streets to lose some of the heat accumulated during this long week in August.