One person has died as stormy weather with high volumes of water is sweeping across Greece, affecting mostly Greek islands. Rhodes is one of the Greek islands severely hit by the bad weather front, while Evia and the Sporades islands (Skiathos, Skopelos and Alonissos) are also at the mercy of the intense weather phenomena. RHODES […]
Spain recorded 5,807 heat-related deaths during the summer of 2026, the highest figure in a decade, according to the national mortality monitoring system (MoMo).
The estimate, reported on Tuesday, is based on final data collected between May 15 and September 30, the period covered by the National Plan for Preventive Actions against the Effects of Excess Temperature on Health.
The toll surpasses the two deadliest summers since the series started: 2022, with 4,789 deaths, and 2025, with 3,832.
It is more than 51% above last year’s figure and 188.61% of the 2024 total, when 2,012 deaths were estimated. Even so, it remains well below the summer of 2003, when around 13,000 people died in Spain because of heat, a catastrophe that led the Health Ministry to design a national prevention plan.
🌡️ September 2026 was the 2nd warmest globally & 3rd warmest in Europe on record.
🇪🇺 Western Europe saw exceptional heat, with parts of France, Portugal, Spain & Italy 4–6°C above average.
August produced the most fatalities, with 2,162 deaths. July followed with 2,026, then June with 938, September with 559 and May with 123.
Compared with last year, the 2026 toll stands more than 51% higher. Measured against 2024, the increase reaches 188.61%, a year in which the system calculated 2,012 deaths.
The number has not reached the historic summer of 2003, when roughly 13,000 people died in Spain as a result of high temperatures. That catastrophe prompted the health ministry to design and launch a prevention plan for the effects of heat on health.
The elderly again bore the heaviest burden. Some 97% of estimated deaths attributable to heat occurred among people aged 65 or older, and 62% among those over 85.
Women were disproportionately affected, accounting for 3,486 deaths, or 60% of the total. Men accounted for 2,321. The impact was not uniform across the country, with the highest mortality rates recorded in the north and northeast of the peninsula.
A Year of Extreme Weather
The team coordinating MoMo at the National Epidemiology Center attributes the impact to an exceptional climatic context. It described this summer as the warmest in recent history, with four heat waves identified by the State Meteorological Agency, plus an additional one in early September.
A persistent drought, large wildfires and an intense marine heat wave in the western Mediterranean compounded the situation. Those conditions combined to push mortality to levels not seen in the decade of MoMo records.
The Carlos III Health Institute said the data reinforce the importance of continuous epidemiological surveillance and stronger prevention and adaptation measures against extreme heat. The warning carries weight as climate patterns grow more volatile.
Scientists have linked the exceptional summer to broader climatic shifts, including the Super El Niño phenomenon. Studies suggest that phenomenon could cause heat-related deaths of 451,000 people worldwide over the coming six months.
Greece’s National Meteorological Service EMY upgraded its weather alert to a “Dangerous Weather Phenomena” warning. At the same time, the country’s Civil Protection declared already 7 regions including several islands in the Aegean Sea into “Red Code” alert warning of very strong winds and possible flooding phenomena. Red Alert has been declared for the island […]
A weather deterioration in Greece is forecast for the next couple of days and the National Meteorological Service (EMY) has issued an “orange” warning, that is Category 4. The main features of the new spell of bad weather will be intense weather phenomena locally, a drop in temperature, and strengthening winds over the seas. According […]
Portugal is heading for another spell of unusually warm weather, with temperatures expected to rise next week and exceed 30°C in some regions, according to forecasts. The warmer conditions are
The eye of Hurricane Simon was just off the Pacific coast of Mexico early Sunday and was expected to move inland later in the day as an extremely powerful storm.
The eye of Hurricane Simon was just off the Pacific coast of Mexico early Sunday and was expected to move inland later in the day as an extremely powerful storm.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said early Saturday Simon's maximum sustained winds increased to 145 mph (230 kph). A storm of that strength is considered a major hurricane.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said early Saturday Simon's maximum sustained winds increased to 145 mph (230 kph). A storm of that strength is considered a major hurricane.
Isaias weakened overnight and was no longer considered a hurricane but flash flooding threats and the potential for tornadoes persisted Saturday as the storm moved inland.
Isaias weakened overnight and was no longer considered a hurricane but flash flooding threats and the potential for tornadoes persisted Saturday as the storm moved inland.
Eight million properties in Britain are at risk of flooding by mid-century due to climate change, the Environment Agency has claimed. That's a quarter of the total. It's completely preposterous, says Paul Homewood.
Last month was the hottest September since 1931 in mainland Portugal, with the maximum temperature reaching 31.03°C, 4.21°C above normal, IPMA national meteorological institute announced today – neglecting to add
A 58-year-old tourist was killed by a lightning in southern Rhodes early afternoon on Friday. The woman was walking with her husband in Lothiarika area of Laerma near Lindos in the south part of the island in the eastern Aegean Sea. She was struck by the lightning at 14:45 and died on the spot, local […]
Ferries remain docked at several ports in Greece on Friday, October 2, due to gale-force winds reaching 9 and up to 10 Beaufort locally in the Aegean Sea. A sailing ban was imposed at the ports of Rafina and Lavrio in south-eastern Attica on Friday morning, while sailings from the port of Piraeus were also […]
Greece’s National Meteorological Service EMY updated its weather warning and upgraded it to Category 5 – RED ALERT. The weather warning regards mainly the island of Crete and the Dodecanese island group and is valid from Friday to Sunday, October 2-4, 2026. According to the weather warning, heavy rainfalls, thunderstorms and gale-force winds up to […]
A heavy rainstorm has been sweeping across the island of Crete on Thursday with tons of water flooding homes, businesses and agricultural land, damaging roads and bridges, causing the life of one person and putting at risk the lives of thousands. Most affected are the regions of Heraklion, Lasithi and Rethymnon. Thye bad weather is […]
As swirling clouds and strong winds marked the region, the national coordinator of Mexico’s Civil Protection Agency reported that Polo would make landfall later in the afternoon.
As swirling clouds and strong winds marked the region, the national coordinator of Mexico’s Civil Protection Agency reported that Polo would make landfall later in the afternoon.
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