Spain records 61 heatwave days in 2026, highest on record

Spain recorded 61 days of extreme heat in 2026, a record number of days under heatwave conditions, according to the national weather agency AEMET. This surpasses the previous high of 41 days in 2022 and marks a significant increase from the average summer temperature. The summer of 2026 also marked the hottest on record since measurements began in 1961, with an average temperature of 24.5 degrees Celsius, just 0.3 degrees below the previous record set in 2025 and a substantial 2.4 degrees above the average from 1991-2020.

A total of four heatwaves impacted both mainland Spain and the Balearic Islands, with the most intense occurring in early September and lasting six days. The July heatwave was particularly severe, affecting 37 provinces and registering a temperature anomaly of 3.9 degrees Celsius. The July and August heatwaves were among the longest on record, each lasting 23 and 24 days respectively.

The September heatwave, affecting 16 provinces, was the fifth recorded in that month since measurements began. The Canary Islands experienced their own five-day heatwave in August. While the summer-like conditions were prevalent during the traditional summer months, temperatures similar to July were also recorded in late May, and the heatwave persisted into the meteorological autumn in September.

Spain has now experienced its 10 hottest summers on record, all of which have occurred in the 21st century, with seven of the eight hottest occurring since 2015. The Health Ministry's daily mortality monitoring system MoMo indicated that heat-related causes were responsible for the deaths of 5,234 people between May 15 and August 31, the highest number of summer deaths recorded since the monitoring system was established in 2015.

Climate scientists attribute the increasing frequency of such extreme weather events to human-induced climate change.