Spain Records 327 Heat-Related Deaths During Brief Late-June Heatwave That Ended Thursday

Spain recorded 327 heat-related deaths from Sunday through Thursday during a heatwave that produced the hottest June days on record since 1950. The Spanish Health Institute Carlos III reported the deaths while the national meteorological agency AEMET stated that 23 June was the hottest June day on record and 22 June ranked second.

Bilbao Airport set new records for both daytime highs and overnight minimum temperatures.

The heatwave ended on Thursday. Since mid-May the Carlos III Institute has registered 611 deaths attributed to high temperatures. @AJEnglish reported that the UK also recorded its hottest June days on record and that the heatwave has been linked to hundreds of deaths across Europe.

France recorded its hottest day ever on Tuesday when the national 24-hour average temperature exceeded 30 °C for the first time. Temperatures reached 43.8 °C in Palluau in western France and the country recorded 40 deaths from drowning in the past week. Belgium issued a heat alert starting Wednesday.

Germany’s national weather service issued widespread red alerts for Berlin, Bonn, Frankfurt and Cologne while Geneva, Basel and Zürich were under red alert in Switzerland. The World Meteorological Organization stated that the heatwave is expected to affect large parts of Western, Central and Southern Europe within the next two weeks and that the focus of the heat is likely to shift further towards the Balkans.

“Prolonged exposure over several days, particularly when temperatures remain high at night, means the body enters each new day already stressed,” said Lachlan McIver, health adviser at the WHO-WMO Climate and Health Joint Office.