A second intense summer heatwave has pushed temperatures past 41°C in Catalonia, triggering maximum red alerts and severe forest fires.
On July 9, 2026, extreme heat gripped western Catalonia, the Ebre region, Alt Empordà, and Baix Empordà.
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The weather service Meteocat raised heat warnings to the highest danger level of six out of six.
Record-breaking temperatures reached up to 41.9°C in areas like Vinebre.
This extreme heat follows a devastating June, during which the Carlos III Health Institute registered a record 218 heat-related deaths across Catalonia, mostly centered around the Sant Joan holiday.
Emergency Response and Fire Risk
Catalonia's interior minister, Núria Parlon, requested emergency assistance from Spain's Military Emergency Unit to combat multiple simultaneous blazes burning in Sentmenat and Anoia.
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Authorities raised the Pla Alfa wildfire risk system to level 4 across 111 municipalities.
Public access to six major natural areas, including Les Gavarres, Montserrat, and Montsec d'Ares, has been closed.
The current environmental crisis stems from a volatile combination of an exceptionally wet winter and spring that generated heavy vegetation, which then dried rapidly under consecutive heatwaves.
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Data from Copernicus revealed that while high surface soil moisture initially suppressed fire potential, the subsequent extreme heat turned the abundant foliage into an extensive fuel surplus, accelerating blazes that have already charred 50,000 hectares in Spain and 28,000 hectares in France.
