Barcelona recorded its first scorching night of 2026 on 29 May, with temperatures staying above 25C in several parts of the city, betevé reported. It is an early sign of the kind of hot nights that can make sleep harder across the city.
At Observatori Fabra, the provisional minimum was 25.3C, the first scorching night recorded there in May. Other areas also crossed the threshold, including Gràcia at 25.2C and Tibidabo at 25.0C.
Several districts came close as well, including Sant Gervasi, Les Corts, the Eixample, which is home to 260,000 residents, and Poblenou. The pattern shows how widespread the heat was across Barcelona, not just in one neighbourhood.
Meteorologists said the overnight heat was driven by an intense warm air mass, with temperatures of 18C to 19C at 850 hPa, plus low atmospheric ventilation. A strong anticyclone and several days of continuous heat also helped keep temperatures from falling overnight.
A scorching night means temperatures stay above 25C during the night hours. That is different from a scorching minimum temperature, which can be recorded later if a cooler sea breeze arrives in the afternoon. The distinction matters when reporting overnight heat in Barcelona and across Catalonia.
The heat is expected to ease in the coming days, both by day and overnight. Even so, the early arrival of this first scorching night fits a trend that has been appearing more often, and earlier in the year, across the region.
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