First half of 2026 was 'hottest ever recorded' in Spain

Spain, a country on the front line of global warming in Europe, is used to extreme temperatures, but in recent years it has faced an increase and intensification of heat waves.

"The seven hottest first half-years of the series (which begins in 1961) have occurred in the last ten years," Aemet said on X.

June of this year, which was marked by a strong heatwave that affected many European countries, was "the second hottest June in the statistical series", after that of 2025, "with an average temperature 3.2C above normal", the Spanish weather agency explained.

Monday June 22nd (28.17C on average) and Tuesday June 23rd (28.08C) were the hottest days recorded in Spain for a month of June since 1950, according to Aemet.

In total, at least 1,028 heat-related deaths were recorded in Spain in June, according to data published Wednesday by the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid.

READ MORE: Spain records more than 1,000 heat-related June deaths

This is more than double the 407 deaths attributable to the same cause in June 2025, which remains the hottest June since the start of the statistical series according to Aemet.

These estimates are based on a system called "MoMo" (Monitoring de la Mortalité), which collects on a daily basis the number of deaths in Spain and calculates the difference between mortality and the expected mortality based on recorded historical series.

It also incorporates factors such as temperatures reported by the National Meteorological Agency.

In 2025, between mid-May and the end of September, 3,832 deaths in the country could be attributed to heat using the same MoMo system.

READ ALSO: Why this summer in Spain is expected to be even hotter than usual