Spain reports over 1,000 heat-related deaths in June

At least 1,028 people died of heat-related issues during the heatwave, the public Carlos III Health Institute said. The figure was more than double the 407 deaths that were attributed to heat in June 2025, Spain’s hottest June since records started being kept, according to the national weather agency Aemet.

The first six months of 2026 were the hottest in Spain since the start of records, with temperatures 1.6C above normal levels on average, Aemet said in a post on X on Wednesday. “The seven warmest first semesters... have occurred over the past 10 years,” the Aemet agency said in a post on X. June 2026 came in as the second-hottest June, “with temperatures on average 3.2C above the norm,” Aemet said.

The heatwave that scorched Europe from late June was the most severe ever recorded in Europe, and would have been “virtually impossible” in June without climate change, the World Weather Attribution group of scientists said. All-time temperature records were broken in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary, as well as for the month of June in the UK and in Switzerland.

According to Mehr News, the report by the Carlos III Health Institute and Aemet highlights the severe impact of the heatwave, with the death toll significantly higher than the previous year.