Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
Spain has suffered from brutal heatwaves, with temperatures frequently exceeding 40C.
Now, we have the numbers, and they are devastating.
According to Spain’s Environment Ministry 1,180 Heat-related deaths have occurred between May 16th and July 13th. It’s a drastic increase from 70 deaths in the same period of 2024.
The north, once thought to be climate-safety, is now the worst hit.
The authorities report that the majority of the victims were older than 65 and more than 50% were women.
Galicia and La Rioja (known for mild summers in these regions) were the worst affected, showing how climate patterns can change quickly and without warning.
“An Event of Extreme Intensity”
The Environment Ministry described this situation as “an exceptional event, characterised a by unprecedented increases in average temperatures and an increase in mortality due to heatwaves.”
In the two-month period, the country issued 76 alerts due to extreme heat. This is compared with zero alerts in the same time frame last year.
Unfortunately, this is just the beginning. Spain recorded 2,191 deaths due to heat during the summer of 2023. If the pace of death continues at this rate, 2025 may be far worse.
The heat crisis has spread to Europe
Researchers from Imperial College London and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine published a separate analysis on July 9, estimating that approximately 2,300 people in 12 European cities died of heat-related deaths during a ten-day period that ended on the 2nd of July.
Spain isn’t the only country in crisis. Europe is struggling with a climate change reality. A world where extreme heat is a norm.
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