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The human cost of this summer's heat is becoming increasingly stark. New figures from Spain's Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo) show that 1,108 deaths were attributed to high temperatures between August 1 and 15, a rise of 146 on the same period last year, when the figure stood at 962.

 

The July total had already made grim reading, with heat claiming more than 2,000 lives across Spain in that month alone. August is now adding to that toll at a similarly alarming rate.

 

To put the latest figures in context, the first half of August 2026 ranks as the third worst on record for heat-related deaths since MoMo began operating in 2015. Only 2018, with 1,197 deaths in the same period, and 2022, with 1,225, were worse.

 

The profile of those who died follows a pattern that has become depressingly familiar. Of the 1,108 deaths recorded, 670 were women and 438 were men. The vast majority, 1,070 out of 1,108, were over 65, and of those, 659 were aged over 85. The data is a stark reminder of just how vulnerable older people are when temperatures remain extreme for sustained periods.

 

Regionally, Catalonia recorded by far the highest number of heat-related deaths at 575, a figure that stands out significantly against every other community. Andalucía followed at 105, then the Canary Islands at 75, the Valencian Community at 56, Castile and León at 53 and Castile-La Mancha at 41. Murcia recorded 12 deaths during the period.

 

Since the 2026 Heat Plan was activated and MoMo monitoring began this year, an estimated 4,191 people have died from heat-related causes in Spain. That cumulative figure breaks down as 123 deaths from late May, 936 in June, 2,024 in July and the 1,108 recorded in the first half of August.

 

With summer far from over and temperatures across many parts of Spain remaining well above seasonal norms, there is little reason to expect that figure to stop rising any time soon.

 

 

 

Image: Faith Turan/Pexels