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Rabat — Spain experienced its most intense heat wave on record during a 16-day period in August, the country’s national weather agency (Aemet) announced Sunday on social media.
The 16-day August heat wave in Spain killed over 1,000 people and ignited deadly wildfires
The country’s heat wave surpassed the previous record from July 2022, with temperatures running 4.6 °C above normal heat wave levels. The 2022 record heat wave had temperatures 4.5 °C above normal, Aemet reported.
Spain has recorded 77 heat waves since 1975. Only six of these showed temperature anomalies of 4 °C or higher. Five of these extreme events occurred since 2019, further indicative of how these dangerous weather patterns have worsened in recent years.
The August heat wave ended on August 18. Aemet estimates that the period between August 8 and 17 marked “the hottest ever recorded in Spain since at least 1950.”
Death toll reaches over 1,000
The Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) attributes 1,149 deaths to the August heat wave. The institute’s MoMo system studies daily mortality variations compared to historical data and factors in temperatures from Aemet.
The system cannot establish absolute causal links between recorded deaths and weather conditions. However, these figures provide the best estimate of deaths where the heat wave likely played a determining role.
In July, MoMo had already attributed about 1,060 deaths to heat – an increase of more than 50% compared to July 2024.
Massive wildfires continue to rage
The heat wave fueled enormous forest fires that continue to devastate Spain and Portugal. The fires have killed eight people — four in each country — and destroyed more than 400,000 hectares across both nations.
The extreme temperatures create perfect conditions for fires to spread rapidly across the Iberian Peninsula, overwhelming firefighting efforts and forcing thousands of residents to evacuate their homes.
Meanwhile, just across the Strait of Gibraltar, Morocco is struggling with its own share of global warming challenges with intense and persistent drought, high temperatures, and wildfires that have gravely damaged sections of the northern forests.
