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Spain has just experienced its deadliest May for heat ever recorded, with 101 deaths attributed to high temperatures, according to estimates published Wednesday by the Health Ministry.

 

The figure is the highest for May since records began in 2015 and is 3.6 times higher than the average number of heat-related deaths recorded during the month over the past decade.

 

A late-May heatwave brought record temperatures to 23 Spanish provinces, according to national meteorological agency AEMET, which also noted that parts of the Mediterranean and Cantabrian seas recorded their warmest May temperatures since records began.

 

"Over the last decade, there have been just seven record-breaking cold days, whereas we have had 221 record-breaking hot days," said Ruben del Campo, spokesperson for Spanish weather agency AEMET.

 

The mortality data was released as Spain launched its 2026 national heat prevention plan, which aims to reduce illness and deaths associated with extreme temperatures. According to the Health Ministry, an estimated 27,564 people died from causes linked to high temperatures between 2015 and 2025. The deadliest year was 2022, with 4,789 deaths, followed by 2025 with 3,832.

 

Health authorities warned that the risk of death rises by between 9.1% and 10.7% for every degree Celsius that temperatures exceed health-risk thresholds. The ministry said people over the age of 75 remain the group most vulnerable to extreme heat, while young children, pregnant women and people with chronic illnesses also face elevated risks.

 

Sea temperatures were also breaking records. Twelve out of 15 deep-water buoys recorded their highest-ever temperatures for May, as well as six out of 14 buoys along the coast, according to the Spanish port authority.

 

Human-caused climate change was behind the phenomenon, del Campo confirmed. However, he added that May's record sea temperatures were unrelated to El Nino, which will potentially begin to emerge in the Pacific in the coming months and reach its peak in October and November.

 

Looking ahead, AEMET forecasts a high probability of hotter than average temperatures in June, July and August across Spain, particularly in the country's north, along the Mediterranean coast and in the Balearic Islands.

 

The UN has forecast a moderate or possibly strong El Nino, which could drive up global temperatures in coming months.

 

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