Spain Expects Up to 44C Next Week After June Heat Linked to Over 2,000 Deaths

Spain’s state meteorological agency Aemet said a mass of dry and very hot air would bring persistently high temperatures to much of Spain starting Saturday, with parts of the south-east possibly reaching 42C to 44C on Tuesday. Aemet spokesperson Rubén del Campo stated temperatures will begin to rise over the weekend and another heatwave cannot be ruled out.

The agency said June 2026 was the second warmest June on record, surpassed only by June 2025, with an average temperature 3.2C above the norm.

Provisional figures from Spain’s health ministry MoMo system recorded 1,029 excess deaths attributable to high temperatures in June. France’s public health agency reported the late-June heatwave caused about 1,000 additional deaths between 24 and 28 June. SOS-Médecins recorded 513 deaths among people over 75 during the week of 22 June, compared with 278 the previous week.

The service reported an 85% increase in deaths among people over 75 during the last two weeks of June, a 14% rise in call-outs to that age group, and a 19% increase in their hospitalizations. Across all age groups, SOS-Médecins recorded a 480% increase in call-outs for heatstroke and a 315% increase in call-outs for dehydration.

French sports and youth minister Marina Ferrari stated the number of deaths by drowning had risen to more than 90 since 19 June.

Interior minister Laurent Nuñez stated three wildfires in southern France had scorched a combined 1,210 hectares. Two of the three wildfires broke out on the western edge of Marseille. Hundreds of people besieged Lidl supermarkets in and around Paris on Thursday seeking air-conditioning units priced at €179.