High temperatures in August have left 2,177 people dead in Spain, 71.3 per cent more than the figure recorded in the same period last year, according to estimates by the Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo) of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII). Data from this platform also reveal that deaths in August attributable to this cause exceeded those in July by 1,117, when 1,060 deaths were recorded. In total, since the beginning of June 2025, Spain has reported 3,644 heat-related deaths, 84.3 per cent more than in the three summer months of 2024.
During the second and third weeks of August, between Monday 11th and Sunday 25th, the highest number of heat-related deaths of the summer were recorded. Specifically, 934 deaths were reported in the second week, while the figure for the third week was 862. By gender, in August there were 877 deaths due to excessive heat among men and 1,300 among women. In terms of the age of the deceased, the majority were over 65 (2,099 deaths) and, of these, 1,428 were over 85.
By autonomous community, the most affected were Madrid, with 415 deaths attributable to temperatures, and Catalonia, with 361. These were followed by Castile and León (264), the Valencian Community (204), Galicia (198), Andalusia (169), Castile-La Mancha (163), Extremadura (115), Aragon (74), the Basque Country (74), Navarre (47), the Canary Islands (22), Asturias (20), La Rioja (19), Murcia (16), Cantabria (13), the Balearic Islands (4) and the autonomous city of Ceuta (1).
According to the MACE Heat Attributable Mortality in Spain statistical model, heat was a factor in the deaths of 48 people in the Balearics between January 1 and June 21. These were deaths when, with the exception of some days this month, heat was moderate; the highest temperature in June has been 39.2C.
A team of scientists at the University of Valencia developed the MACE model and website. They draw on official data from the MOMO Daily Mortality Monitoring System and from temperatures recorded by the AEMET met agency. For 2024, the model attributed 236 deaths to heat; the hottest months of 2025 are yet to come.
One of the scientists, Dominic Royé warns that there will be an increasing number of deaths attributable to high temperatures. “According to a recent study we conducted, Palma is expected to experience an extreme heat event every six years when temperatures rise by 1.5C. If they reach 2C, attributable mortality would be 9%, compared to 4% in 2000.”
Based on their research, the most deaths attributed to heat were 339 in 2022. The 236 in 2024 were therefore comparatively low; in 2023 there had been 277. Royé points out that, although summer 2024 wasn’t as hot as some other recent summers, temperatures were still above normal in much of the Balearics.