Over 5,000 heat-related deaths in Spain since June: public institute

Spain registered more than 5,000 heat-related deaths from June to August, data from a public health institute showed on Tuesday, a record since the start of its statistics in 2015.

A string of exceptional summer heatwaves has been linked with thousands of excess deaths across Europe, with the continent's climate monitor reporting the hottest June—July on record for Western Europe.

The 5,111 heat-related deaths in Spain from June to August recorded by the Carlos III Health Institute surpassed the previous high of 4,652 for the same period in 2022.

The estimate was also up from the 3,651 fatalities recorded during the same period last year and 1,977 for those three months in 2024.

The figures were estimated using data from Spain's Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo), which tracks daily mortality nationwide and compares it to historical trends.

It also incorporates external factors, such as weather data from the national weather agency AEMET, to assess likely causes of mortality spikes.

Although MoMo cannot confirm a direct cause between deaths and high temperatures, it provides the most reliable estimate of fatalities in which heat was likely a decisive factor.

Most heat-related excess deaths are due to heart attacks and strokes caused by the strain of trying to keep body temperatures stable.

Scientists have long warned that climate change, driven by humanity's burning of fossil fuels, is making the extreme heat spells that have afflicted Europe longer, more intense and more frequent.

AEMET has said July was mainland Spain's joint-hottest month since the start of its figures in 1961, while new temperature records tumbled across swathes of drought-hit Europe.

The heat and lack of moisture fostered ideal conditions for wildfires, with Spain suffering one of its worst such disasters in living memory in July, forcing the evacuation of tens of thousands of people just dozens of kilometres from Madrid.

Unusually high temperatures for September are set to bake Spain this week, with forecasts topping 40C in the south and west of the country.