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Heatwaves in Spain killed 20 per cent more people in the summer of 2022
Deaths directly from heatstroke and dehydration in Spain doubled between 2019 and 2022
A 47-year-old man in Seville became the first victim of the ongoing June heatwave but if previous years are anything to go by, he sadly won’t be the last. Between May and August of 2022, a staggering 157,580 people passed away from heat-related problems, a 20.5% increase on 2019.
Fatalities from heatstroke and dehydration also doubled in the intervening three years.
Anyone who spent time in Spain from the late spring onwards last year will remember a succession of punishing heatwaves when all temperature records were pulverised. The tragic offshoot is that during this period, the health services reported 122 fatal heatstrokes compared to 47 in 2019, representing an increase of 159%, and 233 cases of dehydration, which rose 113.7% compared to the 109 of the pre-pandemic year.
In 2021, deaths from both causes stood at 189 compared to 355 in 2022, is a shocking 89% hike.
July 2022 was by far the most lethal month and the heat hit the elderly hardest: during the seventh month of that year, deaths increased by 32.8% (10,991 more fatalities), and the increase was greatest in those over 75 years of age.
Thankfully, the first official heatwave of 2023 is only set to last in earnest until Thursday June 29 but it has already produced some astonishing temperatures. Large parts of Andalucia were placed on red alert on Monday, with cities like Seville expected to reach an unbelievable 42ºC.
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Image: Freepik
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