Barcelona temperature will ‘rise 3.7 degrees by 2100′ unless carbon emissions ‘substantially reduced’, study warns

THE average temperature in Barcelona could rise by up to 3.7 degrees Celsius by the end of the century unless greenhouse gas emissions are ‘substantially reduced’, a new study has warned.

According to research carried out by the ICARIA initiative, a European Union-funded project designed to improve climate resilient, the Catalan city’s average temperature is expected to rise by between 1.7 and 3.7°C by 2100.

If carbon emissions are not reduced and global warming is not reversed, the temperatures could rise by 4.5 degrees in 2100 and by 3 degrees by 2050. 

Gulle Lopez of Climate Action of Barcelona Metropolitan Area (AMB) warned that “These figures are well beyond the 2015 Paris Agreement”, referring to the legally-binding international treaty which was negotiated by over 196 countries to limit global heating to two degrees Celsius. 

According to a study, Barcelona is expected to experience four additional heatwaves as well as 20.5 extra days of extreme heat per year by the turn-of-the century.

READ MORE Barcelona records highest-ever temperature of 40C – as Spain issues red alerts for extreme heat

There would also be 74 further ‘tropical’ nights where overnight temperatures fail to drop below 20C, and 47 additional instances of temperatures remaining above 25C.

Increased temperatures can also cause serious damage to local infrastructure such as the expansion of train tracks in extreme heat.

Barcelona reached its highest ever temperature last summer of 40.2C during a sweltering, humid heatwave. It was the very first time that temperatures in the city exceeded 40C.