Spain Attributes Over 1,000 Excess Deaths to Heat in Second-HottestJune Ever

Spain Attributes Over 1,000 Excess Deaths to Heat in Second-HottestJune Ever

MADRID, July 1 (Reuters) – Spain recorded 1,029 ⁠excess ⁠deaths last month attributable ⁠to heat, official data showed on Wednesday, as ​a five-day heatwave with temperatures surpassing 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) ‌made it the second-hottest ‌month of June on record.

• Data on the Health Ministry’s ⁠daily ⁠mortality monitoring system MoMo showed this June had the most ​deaths attributed to heat since the same month in 2015.

• Average temperatures last month were 3.2 degrees higher than normal, weather agency ​AEMET said, making it the second-hottest June on record after June ⁠2025.

• ⁠At the heatwave’s peak ⁠on ​June 23, 35.7 million people — roughly 73% of the country’s population — ​were exposed to health ⁠risks due to the heat; 38% of them faced high risk.

• There have been 12 heatwaves in June since 1975, with half of them occurring in the past decade.

• The ⁠13 hottest months of June since records began in 1961 all ⁠occurred in the 21st century.

• This is evidence that heatwaves appear at the beginning of summer with a higher frequency than before, said AEMET spokesperson Ruben del Campo.

• Between June 1 and 30, 165 maximum temperature records — 145 of them monthly and 20 all-time — and 225 highest minimum temperature records — 180 monthly and 45 all-time — were ⁠broken at local measuring stations, AEMET said.

• The first heatwave of the summer was exceptional in the country’s north “not only because of its intensity, but also because of ​its duration and persistence,” the agency added.

(Reporting by David ​Latona; Editing by Joe Bavier)

Copyright 2026 Thomson Reuters.

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