More than 1,000 people died from heat-related causes during the latest heat wave in Spain, officials said Wednesday, as the country recorded its hottest first half of the year.
Spain’s Carlos III Health Institute said in a report that there were at least 1,028 heat-related deaths during last month’s heat wave.
This number was more than double the 407 recorded in June 2025. This was the highest number of heat-related deaths in June since 2015.
On June 23, at the peak of the heat wave, 35.7 million people, about 73% of Spain’s population, were exposed to health risks.
Spain’s national weather agency Emet said in a post on Twitter that last month was the country’s second-warmest June on record, with temperatures 3.2 degrees Celsius above normal.
“The first half of 2026 will be the warmest for all of Spain since records began, with temperatures 1.6 degrees Celsius above normal,” Amet posted.
Extreme heat continues in Europe
The recent heat wave that scorched much of Europe was the continent’s worst on record.
Temperatures above 40 °C (104 °F) broke records in France, Germany and other European countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has blamed the heat wave for more than 1,300 additional deaths across Europe, a number likely to rise.
The extreme heat broke all-time temperature records in several European countries, including Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, while overnight temperatures in France were the highest ever.
What do scientists say?
According to meteorologists, the heat wave is being driven by a mass of hot air moving north from the Sahara, driven by a strong high pressure system known as the “African Anticyclone”.
The high pressure system has created a so-called “heat dome”, trapping warm air over western and central Europe, causing temperatures to rise by the day.
Experts say human-induced climate change has increased temperatures, making this year’s record heat hotter by up to 4 degrees Celsius.
Edited by: Zack Crellin
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