Spain reports over 1,000 heat-related deaths in second-hottest June on record as Europe reels from heatwave
Spain has recorded more than 1,000 excess deaths attributed to the June heatwave, official data showed, as the month became the second-hottest ever in the country. The toll marks the highest heat-related mortality for June since monitoring began in 2015.
Record temperatures
Spain endured its second-hottest June since records began in 1961, with the national weather agency AEMET reporting an average temperature 3.2°C above the 1991–2020 norm. The month was just behind June 2025, which was 3.6°C above normal. The heatwave from June 20 to 24 was especially intense in the north, shattering daily average temperature records. On June 23, the average temperature across Spain hit 29.6°C, the highest for any June day, and the maximum temperature averaged 38.2°C. AEMET recorded 165 new maximum temperature records, including 20 all-time highs, and 225 records for nighttime lows.
Heatwaves at the start of summer are occurring more frequently than in the past.
Death toll and health risks
At least 1,028 excess deaths in June were attributed to the heat by the Carlos III Health Institute's MoMo mortality monitoring system, the highest June figure since the system began in 2015. The previous June record was 1,000 deaths in 2017. During the five-day heatwave from June 21 to June 25, 353 deaths were registered, almost all among people older than 65, with 720 aged over 85. Women accounted for 624 of the deaths compared with 405 men. More than 97 percent of the fatalities were linked to the worsening of pre-existing conditions rather than direct heat strokes.
At the peak on June 23, 35.7 million people (73% of Spain's population) were exposed to health risks from the high temperatures, and 38% of them were at high risk.
- First summer heatwave begins, temperatures surpass 40°C in dozens of cities
- Heatwave intensifies; start of five-day period that will claim 353 lives
- Peak of heatwave; 35.7 million at risk, Spain's daily average hits 29.6°C
- First heatwave ends; 165 max temperature records and 225 nighttime low records broken
- Health institute reports 1,028–1,029 excess deaths for June, highest June toll since 2015
- June 2017
- 1000 deaths
- June 2025
- 407 deaths
- June 2026
- 1028 deaths
A scorching Europe
The heatwave that swept across Europe from late June was the most severe ever recorded on the continent. All-time temperature records were broken in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary. The United Kingdom and Switzerland set new June records, while France endured its highest-ever nighttime temperatures. The World Health Organization linked more than 1,300 excess deaths across Europe to the heatwave, a figure expected to rise.
Climate change fingerprint
Scientists from the World Weather Attribution group said the heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" in June without climate change. They found that human-caused warming made the event about 4°C hotter than it would have been otherwise. AEMET noted that Spain's first half of 2026 was the hottest on record, with an average temperature 1.6°C above normal. The seven warmest first semesters in Spain have all occurred within the past ten years.
