More than a hundred people have died from heat-related causes in Spain during May 2026, according to government officials, making it the deadliest month since records began – and a stark warning that climate-driven heat is arriving earlier and hitting harder than ever.
“The most lethal month on record”
An unprecedented May heat event has claimed 101 lives in Spain, even before the official start of the meteorological summer, the country’s health and climate chiefs have confirmed. The figures make it the most lethal month for heat-related fatalities since records began.
Presenting a new national plan to combat high temperatures, the health minister, Mónica García, and the official responsible for climate affairs, Héctor Tejero, revealed that the majority of deaths occurred in Asturias, Galicia, and the Basque Country. The victims were predominantly elderly women, and the mortality rate was three times higher than the ten-year average for May.
Between 2015 and 2025, more than 27,500 people died from heat-related causes in Spain. Last year alone, 3,832 fatalities were recorded – the second-worst figure in the country’s history.
Spring risk underestimated, minister warns
During heatwaves, hospital admissions rise by 10%, while workplace accidents increase by up to 17%. Minister García warned that extreme heat is now arriving earlier in the year, before bodies have had time to acclimatise. She noted that a dangerous misconception persists in society: that no risk exists during spring.
In the final week of May, temperatures soared 10–15°C above seasonal norms. The coming summer is forecast to be hotter than average, and the meteorological summer in Spain is now nearly six weeks longer than it was in the 1980s.
New early warning system for 2026
The key innovation in the 2026 plan is an updated system of dangerous temperature thresholds. Early warnings are issued via the portal meteosalud.es, providing three‑day forecasts with risk levels colour-coded yellow, orange, and red.
Tejero outlined the most vulnerable scenario: “A 75-year-old woman living alone, in a poor neighbourhood, in a home without air conditioning.” For such individuals, he said, even a moderate warning can be deadly.
García sharply criticised the inertia of local administrations, recalling a former Madrid health official who suggested children be given fans to wave in their classrooms. “Thousands of schoolchildren spend hours in classrooms where temperatures exceed 35°C,” she said. “Why do we tolerate conditions in childhood that would be unacceptable for adults?”
She concluded: “When we talk about climate change, we are talking about health. And when we talk about health, we are talking about saving lives.”
