An ambulance at the GSAIB base in Sant Antoni reached 53.5°C inside on September 29, according to the healthcare workers' union USAE, which is calling for urgent action over the extreme temperatures affecting emergency vehicles on Ibiza.

USAE published a photograph of the digital thermometer inside one of the ambulances at the Sant Antoni base. The display showed 53.5°C at 15:50.

The union says the base does not have a covered parking area to protect its ambulances from direct sunlight and other weather conditions.

53.5°C Recorded Inside an Ambulance

The temperature shown in the photograph is significantly higher than the outdoor temperatures normally reported for the island.

USAE says the reading demonstrates the conditions faced by emergency transport workers when ambulances are left exposed at the base.

The union represents healthcare technicians and has been raising concerns about the infrastructure of ambulance bases in Ibiza for months.

It is important to distinguish the measurement from an official weather observation: 53.5°C is the temperature displayed by a thermometer inside one ambulance, according to USAE. It is not a measurement of the ambient temperature across Sant Antoni or Ibiza.

Union Warns About More Than Staff Comfort

USAE says the issue goes beyond uncomfortable working conditions.

According to the union, prolonged exposure to high temperatures can create thermal risks for emergency personnel and may also affect equipment used to treat patients.

The union specifically raises concerns about oxygen systems and medical materials inside the vehicles, arguing that heat-related deterioration could affect the quality of care.

USAE also warns of potential situations including heat-related illness among workers and burns from touching parts of vehicles that have become extremely hot. These are risks identified by the union rather than confirmed incidents arising from the 53.5°C reading.

What the Union Says About the 17°C to 27°C Range

USAE says that, following a complaint it filed, the Provincial Labour Inspectorate established a temperature range of 17°C to 27°C for the interior of the vehicles.

There is an important legal qualification.

Royal Decree 486/1997 establishes temperature requirements for certain enclosed workplaces, including a range of 17°C to 27°C for sedentary office-type work. However, Article 1 of the same regulation expressly excludes workplaces situated inside means of transport from its scope.

USAE itself acknowledges this exclusion and says that the 17°C to 27°C range should therefore be considered an orientation for appropriate working conditions in the vehicles rather than simply applying as a direct statutory temperature limit to ambulances.

That distinction is important when reporting the issue.

The Sant Antoni Base Has Been a Long-Running Concern

The lack of suitable covered infrastructure is not a new complaint.

In January 2026, representatives of GSAIB workers raised concerns about the condition of several ambulance bases on Ibiza and Formentera, including the lack of covered areas for vehicles.

At the time, the Balearic Health Service said improvements were already underway. These included a roof for the ambulance base at Can Misses and the renovation of the former Local Police barracks in Sant Antoni, which was intended to become the area's ambulance base. Health authorities said then that both works were expected to be completed before summer.

The September complaint shows that USAE continues to identify uncovered parking at Sant Antoni as a problem.

The sources reviewed for this report do not establish whether the infrastructure works announced in January have since been fully completed or whether the specific Sant Antoni ambulance parking arrangement has changed.

New Ambulances Exposed to the Elements

The infrastructure dispute also concerns the wider ambulance fleet.

Earlier in 2026, GSAIB workers complained that recently acquired ambulances were being left exposed to sun, rain and humidity because several Ibiza bases lacked suitable garages or covered parking.

Workers contrasted the situation with Mallorca and Menorca, where they said more suitable infrastructure was available.

The issue therefore extends beyond a single hot afternoon.

For the workers, the concern is that vehicles designed to provide healthcare are themselves being stored in conditions that can place additional stress on their equipment and the people who operate them.

GSAIB Is the Public Health Transport Operator

GSAIB, Gestión Sanitaria y Asistencial de las Illes Balears, is a public entity dependent on the Balearic Health Service and responsible for non-emergency patient transport, among other functions.

In June 2026, GSAIB reached a definitive agreement with the unions representing transport-healthcare professionals, cancelling a planned strike after negotiations concerning employment and pay issues. The agreement affected more than 500 workers who had been incorporated into the public-sector structure between 2018 and 2022.

The current temperature dispute is a separate issue centred on the physical infrastructure of the ambulance bases.

The Union Wants a Permanent Solution

USAE says workers should be able to provide healthcare transport in conditions that protect both staff and patients.

Its latest complaint calls for solutions at Ibiza's uncovered bases and criticises what it describes as the repeated need for workers to raise the same infrastructure problems.

The union says the objective should not simply be to react when temperatures become extreme, but to provide appropriate facilities that protect the vehicles, equipment and personnel throughout the year.

A Striking Image From Ibiza's Ambulance Service

The photograph released by USAE tells the story in a single number.

53.5°C.

It is the temperature recorded by a thermometer inside one ambulance at the Sant Antoni base at 15:50 on September 29.

For USAE, the image is evidence of a wider infrastructure problem that it says has been repeatedly raised with the authorities.

The figure does not represent the official air temperature of Ibiza, nor does it mean that every ambulance on the island reached the same temperature.

But it does document the conditions reported inside one emergency vehicle and has renewed the union's demand for proper protection for Ibiza's ambulance fleet.