Catalonia records 1,835 heat-related deaths this summer, nearly triple previous high

Catalonia recorded a record 1,835 heat-related deaths between June and August, according to data from the Carlos III Health Institute's Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo).

It is the highest figure recorded since the Madrid-based research centre began collecting data in 2015, and almost three times the previous record of 669 deaths, set last year.

August accounted for the largest share of heat-related deaths, with 1,164 fatalities – more than three times the previous record for the month, 363 deaths in 2018.

Records were also set in June and July. June registered 127 deaths, almost all during the summer's first heatwave around the Sant Joan holiday, while July recorded 544.

Across Spain, the number of deaths linked to high temperatures also hit a record 5,113 over the three summer months. The previous high was 4,653, recorded in 2022.

More than 5,000 treated for the effects of heat

Catalonia's primary care services treated 5,771 people for heat-related conditions between May 1 and August 30. More than half of those cases – 3,427 – involved sunstroke or heatstroke.

Emergency departments treated 2,121 people between May and August, with 361 people admitted to hospital. Dehydration was the most common reason for emergency treatment.

Record September temperature

This summer was the hottest ever recorded in Catalonia, and the record high temperatures have continued into September. 

Barcelona's Fabra Observatory, located in the Collserola hills, recorded its highest-ever September temperature on Wednesday, reaching 33.6°C.

The new record, in a 113-year series of measurements, beats the previous September high of 33°C, set on September 25, 1983.

Wednesday also brought a new September temperature record in Montesquiu, Osona, where temperatures reached 36.1°C.