MADRID, Sep 9 (Reuters) – Spain registered 61 days under heatwave conditions on its continental territory and the Balearic Islands in 2026, the highest number on record and well above the previous peak of 41 days in 2022, according to the national meteorological agency Aemet on Wednesday.
Spain also experienced its hottest summer since records began in 1961, with an average temperature of 24.5 degrees Celsius, 0.3 degrees above the previous record set in 2025 and 2.4 degrees above the 1991-2020 average.
Four heat waves affected the continental Spain and the Balearic Islands, including a six-day episode at the beginning of September, according to Aemet, meaning that Spain recorded extremely high temperatures on about two of every three days of the summer.
The most intense heat wave, which lasted for most of July, affected 37 provinces and registered a temperature anomaly of 3.9°C.
The heat waves in July and August, lasting 23 and 24 days respectively, were among the longest on record since at least 1975.
The September episode affected 16 provinces and was the fifth heat wave recorded in that month since records began.
The Canary Islands experienced a separate five-day heat wave in August.
Aemet said that conditions similar to those of summer extended beyond June, July and August, with temperatures comparable to July across much of Spain in late May and the heat wave continuing into the meteorological autumn in September.
The ten hottest summers on record in Spain have all occurred in the 21st century, while seven of the eight hottest have occurred since 2015.
Data from MoMo, the Health Ministry’s daily mortality monitoring system, showed an estimated 5,234 people died from heat-related causes between May 15 and August 31, the highest number on record for the summer period since the monitoring system was launched in 2015.
Scientists say that extreme weather events are becoming more frequent due to human-caused climate change.
