The Carlos III Health Institute has counted 153 deaths linked to high temperatures in the first days of July, specifically from July 1 to July 4, 2026, which represents a decrease of 59.3% (223 fewer deaths) compared to the same period in 2025.
According to data from the Daily Mortality Monitoring (MoMo) system, 376 heat-related deaths were recorded in the first four days of July 2025, nearly a hundred people per day. In contrast, in 2026, 51 deaths were estimated on the 1st; 36 on the 2nd, and 33 on both the 3rd and 4th.
In the entirety of June 2026, the number of heat-associated deaths stood at 937. The closest records in this month were observed in June 2022 and 2017, when 828 and 1,000 deaths were reached, respectively.
Historical series compiled by the MoMo system show a marked variability in heat-attributable mortality during the month of June over the last five years. Thus, in June 2025, 380 deaths linked to excess temperature in Spain were estimated, compared to 32 in June 2024 and 142 reported in June 2023.
Consequently, the figures for 2026 almost triple those recorded the previous year and comfortably exceed those of previous years.
Throughout June, the majority of deaths were concentrated in the last days of the month, with June 25 being the day with the most fatalities. Regarding the profile of the victims, 366 were men and 571 were women. The majority were over 65 years old (940) and, within this group, 632 were over 85 years old.
By autonomous communities, the Basque Country leads the number of heat-associated deaths in June, with 153, followed by Catalonia, with 127; Castilla y León (90); Community of Madrid (93); Galicia (88); Andalusia (73); Valencian Community (62); Navarre (54); Asturias (51); Cantabria (50); Aragon (45); Castilla-La Mancha (30); La Rioja (13); Extremadura (7) and Murcia (3). In the Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Ceuta, and Melilla, the system has not detected deaths attributable to this cause.
The public body recalls that the MoMo estimation system does not perform a direct count of clinical deaths or those certified by heatstroke, but rather uses a statistical approximation.
The model contrasts the daily all-cause mortality observed with the expected mortality according to historical series and relates these deviations to the evolution of extreme temperatures.
Through this methodology, the Carlos III Health Institute has calculated the global excess mortality and has determined what proportion of deaths can be directly associated with thermal anomalies.