Heat caused 43 deaths in Catalonia last week, according to Carlos III Institute

A total of 43 deaths in Catalonia have been attributed to high temperatures between June 22 and June 30, according to data from Spain’s Carlos III Health Institute.

These are the first heat-related deaths recorded this summer based on the institute's system for tracking mortality caused by extreme temperatures.

The system monitors heat-related deaths daily from May 15 to September 30 and has been in place since 2015.

This year's toll is equal to that of 2022, which had the highest overall heat-related mortality since the tracking began.

That year, 582 people died in Catalonia due to high temperatures, 43 of whom died during the same period in June.

According to the data, eight out of ten heat-related deaths involve people over the age of 65.

So far this year, 265 deaths in Spain have been attributed to high temperatures, a lower figure compared to the same period in 2017 and 2022.