It's getting harder and harder to sleep in the big city. In some neighborhoods of Barcelona, temperatures approached the disturbing 30 degree barrier during the morning from Monday to Tuesday. This high night temperature, which could be considered exceptionally high among all the days of summer, is beginning to show a persistent trend that has clearly increased in recent years.
Following the increase in nighttime temperatures in summer, two years ago, Termcat, the Catalonian language terminology center of the Generalitat, coined the term nit roent (suffocating night - it translates into Spanish as infernal –) for those that exceed 30º C, so that it leaves behind the classification as tropical (over 20º C) or torrid (over 25º C).
After the hot night from Monday to Tuesday, Barcelona City Council yesterday activated the emergency phase for torrid nights of the Heat plan, in case specific interventions need to be made to preserve the health of vulnerable people and families. This type of alert is activated from maximum temperatures of 35.7º C or minimum temperatures of 27.9º C, which was exactly what the Fabra Observatory recorded that morning, although in a good part of the city exceeded 28º C.
In the absence of definitive confirmation of the 27.9º C from the Fabra Observatory - the hours of last night until 2 in the morning must be counted - it is very possible that it will be the second highest historical record in Barcelona . The first happened exactly a century ago, on August 8, 1923, when 28.6º C was recorded. In this relationship, the minimum temperatures of last night are not counted (which will not be confirmed until the data is available of the following).
Historical data series from the Fabra Observatory in Barcelona show that since 1914 there has been a notable increase in tropical and torrid nights from the 1980s onwards, although their number has risen greatly since beginning of the 21st century, with more than a hundred each year, a previously unusual figure. In addition, these nights do not end with the month of August, but are also recorded in September and, in more exceptional cases, in October.
Meteocat's forecast based on record trends is that extreme temperatures in Catalonia will continue to climb, with an increase in daily maximums and minimums from 4º C to 3.5º C by the year 2050. The institute Catalan meteorologist also predicts that "the number of tropical and torrid nights in the coastal area will increase considerably, as well as warm (over 30º C) and torrid (over 35º C) days."
The scorching 30º C nocturnal temperatures are getting closer to Barcelona. Les Corts weather station reached the absolute highest minimum temperature record on August 5, with 29.9º C on August 5, 2018. In the last five years, the trend has continued with the gradual increase of temperatures It's only a matter of time before many miss the good nights.
