Over 1,000 died in the Spanish June heat

TT

Updated 10.01 | Published 08.57

 

A man protects himself from the sun with a parasol near the beach in Barcelona. The photo was taken in May this year.

A man protects himself from the sun with a parasol near the beach in Barcelona. The photo was taken in May this year. Photo: Emilio Morenatti/AP/TT

At least 1,028 deaths in Spain in June are attributed to the heat wave that swept across Europe last week, the Carlos III Health Institute announced.

The figure is more than double that of June last year, which was the hottest June since statistics began, according to the Spanish weather agency Aemet.

The first half of 2026 was also the warmest ever recorded for the entire country, with temperatures 1.6 degrees above normal, Aemet writes on X.

The seven warmest first half years since 1961 in Spain have been reported in the last ten years.

In northern Greece, two people have died in a huge forest fire, the rescue service announced. The rescue service has brought a half-mile-wide wall of fire under control after the fire earlier threatened the community of Liti outside the city of Thessaloniki.

Greece is hit by extensive fires every year during the dry and hot season.

The heat wave in Europe that began at the end of June was the most intense ever recorded. According to the research network World Weather Attribution, such a heat wave would have been “practically impossible” in June without climate change.