This summer, extreme heat has already claimed around a hundred lives in the Balearic Islands. According to the latest figures available up to 17 July, the Spanish web platform Mortalidad Atribuible por Calor en España (MACE) attributes 94 deaths to high temperatures across the archipelago.
The death toll is expected to rise as Mallorca battles a heatwave that began on 14 August. Temperatures soared to 42°C in Calvia and Palma last Sunday, with the State Meteorological Agency (Aemet) forecasting that the spell of extreme heat will continue until Wednesday.
Public health specialist Joan Carles March warns that climate change is no longer a distant threat but a current reality. He urges residents to take precautions, stressing that excessive heat poses serious risks, particularly for the elderly, infants, people with chronic illnesses, and those working outdoors. “Extreme temperatures can be fatal if proper measures are not taken,” March says.
Experts note that measuring heat-related deaths is complex. While only one death from heatstroke has been recorded in the Islands, broader analyses across Spain show at least 23 deaths. March explains that different systems, such as MACE and the Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MOMO), track heat-related fatalities in distinct ways: MACE includes deaths indirectly linked to heat, such as complications from chronic conditions, while MOMO records only direct heat deaths.
MACE was developed by researchers from the Institute of Environmental Diagnosis and Water Studies (IDAEA-CSIC), the University of Valencia, and the Climate Research Foundation. Dominic Royé, one of the project’s scientists, confirms that the data combines official mortality records with local temperature readings, providing a more comprehensive picture of the human impact of Spain’s summer heatwaves.
In Spain as a whole, extreme heat has claimed the lives of nearly 1.200 people over the past two months, up from 114 last year, the Environment Ministry reported. Mallorca has seen its hottest month on record, while northern regions including Galicia, Asturias and La Rioja were hardest hit. Most victims are over 65, with fatalities spiking in early July.