Spain’s summer heat claims more than 5,000 lives
Spain endured its hottest summer on record, with more than 5,000 heat-related deaths attributed to extreme temperatures, according to provisional data from the Carlos III Health Institute’s Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo), Qazinform News Agency cites Anadolu Agency.
Average summer temperature hit 26°C (79°F), 2.5°C above the 1991–2020 average.
June became the second-hottest on record with 25°C (77°F), 3.5°C above normal.
July followed as the hottest ever, with 27.3°C (81°F), 2.9°C above normal, while August was the second-hottest, with mercury rising to 26.2°C (79°F).
Four heat waves in total, with 49 consecutive days above normal between June 6 and July 24 gripped the country.
5,111 deaths were attributed to heat, the highest since records began.
2,192 deaths were recorded in August, 2,025 in July and 937 in June.
Only 21% of deaths occurred during officially designated heat waves, showing the danger of prolonged high temperatures even outside peak events.
342 maximum temperature records, 470 highest minimum temperature records and 71 new all-time local highs, many in northern Spain, were broken this summer, with peak temperature at 45.1°C (113°F) in Andujar on June 22.
Nights offered little relief. One of the hottest nights was recorded at Almería Airport at a minimum of 30.8°C (87°F).
September has also started with “full summer temperatures”, with forecasts of 37–40°C (99–104°F) in parts of northeastern, central, and southern Spain.
As written before, the death toll from the devastating mudslide climbed to 1,010, with 4,599 people still missing, Nepalese authorities said Tuesday.
