After scorching June, Spain & France raise alarm over fiery July with death toll nearing 2,000 mark

After scorching June, Spain and France are bracing for another possible heatwave that could make the temperature go as high as 44C over the upcoming days. It is pertinent to note that the figures show that June's extreme heat was responsible for more than 2,000 excess deaths in just these two European nations.

According to Spain's meteorological agency, Aemet, a mass of dry and very hot air would bring persistently high temperatures to much of Spain from Saturday, adding that the temperatures in parts of the south-east could hit as high as 42C to 44C on Tuesday.

“Temperatures will begin to rise over the weekend, and we can’t rule out another heatwave,” said Rubén del Campo, an Aemet spokesperson. The agency also noted that the high temperatures could increase the likelihood of forest fires next week and warned that older people and those with cardiovascular problems must take extra care in the daytime heat.

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Aemet pointed out that last month was the second warmest June the country has witnessed on record. It was only surpassed by the heatwave of June 2025. It becomes important to point out that scientists have said that the heatwave, which was the most severe and widespread to hit western Europe, was possible only due to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning.

The situation in France continues to remain bad

On Sunday, France's public health agency said that the 10-day late June heatwave, which experts have said was the most extreme the country had experienced. The high temperatures have caused about 1,000 additional deaths, compared with previous months between 24 and 28 June.

However, the authorities warned that the figure continues to remain incomplete. Meanwhile, a final toll has not yet been released. Nicolas Revel, the head of hospitals in the Paris area, said this week he did not expect the excess death toll to match the 15,000 recorded in 2003, France’s most severe previous heatwave, “because we’ve made a lot of progress in many areas”. But he said he expected the number of heat-related deaths to be higher than the 5,700 recorded last year.

The country's medical emergency service SoS-Médecins also noted that it had recorded an 85 per cent increase in deaths among the aged over 75 during the last two weeks of June. Apart from this, a total of 513 elderly people died during the week of 22 June, compared with 278 the previous week.

In France, call-outs to that age group mainly for high temperature and anxiety rose by 14 per cent, it said. Hospitalisations of people over 75 increased by 19 per cent. Across all age groups, call-outs for heatstroke and dehydration soared by 480 per cent and 315 per cent respectively.

Marina Ferrari, the country's sports and youth minister, told French radio on Thursday the number of deaths by drowning had risen to “more than 90” since 19 June. “It’s a worrying figure,” said Ferrari. “We have seen a decrease in recent days, so we can clearly see that this is also correlated with a heatwave where people are seeking relief from the heat.”