MADRID — Spanish health officials have linked more than 1,000 deaths to extreme heat last month, according to government figures released Wednesday. A five-day heatwave that saw temperatures climb above 40 degrees Celsius — or 104 degrees Fahrenheit — made June the second-hottest such month ever recorded in the country.
The Health Ministry’s daily mortality tracking system, known as MoMo, showed that 1,029 excess deaths were attributable to the heat during June. That marks the highest number of heat-linked deaths in that month since June 2015.
The national weather agency, AEMET, reported that average temperatures last month ran 3.2 degrees above normal levels, ranking it as the second-hottest June on record, trailing only June 2025.
At the height of the heatwave on June 23, approximately 35.7 million people — around 73 percent of Spain’s total population — faced health risks from the heat. Of that group, 38 percent were considered to be at high risk.
AEMET spokesperson Ruben del Campo said the pattern reflects a troubling shift in climate trends. “This is evidence that heatwaves appear at the beginning of summer with a higher frequency than before,” he said.
Historical data backs that up: of the 12 heatwaves recorded in June since 1975, half have occurred within the last ten years. Additionally, every one of the 13 hottest June months since records began in 1961 has taken place in the 21st century.
Throughout the month of June, weather stations across Spain shattered temperature records. A total of 165 maximum temperature records were broken — 145 of them monthly records and 20 all-time highs. An additional 225 records for the highest overnight low temperatures were also set, including 180 monthly records and 45 all-time marks.
AEMET described the season’s first heatwave as particularly remarkable in northern Spain, noting it stood out “not only because of its intensity, but also because of its duration and persistence.”
