The Catalan capital Barcelona saw record-breaking temperatures on Wednesday, with the mercury surging to 40.5C amid Spain’s second heatwave of the summer.
On Wednesday afternoon the city of Barcelona broke its all-time heat record with a maximum temperature of 40.5C recorded at the Fabra Observatory’s weather station in the Catalan capital.
The city has temperature records dating back 112 years at the Fabra Observatory.
The previous record was set on 30 July 2024, when the thermometer reached 40C.
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As the heat map provided by the regional weather agency, Meteocat, shows below, the mercury soared beyond 40C in large areas of the region.
La temperatura màxima s’enfila avui per sobre dels 40 ºC a molts punts del país, fins i tot a punts propers de la costa. pic.twitter.com/rv0ADREwGW
— Meteocat (@meteocat) July 8, 2026
Across Catalonia records have tumbled in recent hours, such as that for the highest minimum night-time temperature.
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, a minimum temperature of 31.9C was recorded at the Portbou-Coll dels Belitres weather station at 22.27pm — the warmest night on record.
It comes as Spain swelters in its second heatwave of the summer, with swathes of the country suffering plus-40C temperatures.
The extreme heat has a human cost and follows news that Spain recorded more than 1,000 heat-related deaths in June alone with the traditionally hotter weeks of the summer still to come.
As such, on Wednesday Spain’s Ministry of Health placed many areas in the country at “high risk” of heat-related health problems, with many more at “medium risk” and “low risk”.
The parts of Spain on high risk for health problems due to the heatwave. Image: Ministry of Health
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