Heatwave Threat Looms Over Spain and France
Spain and France are preparing for a potential new heatwave that could push temperatures up to 44°C (111°F) in the coming days. This follows a scorching June that resulted in over 2,000 excess deaths across both countries.
Spain’s state meteorological agency, Aemet, reported that a mass of dry, extremely hot air will cause persistently high temperatures across much of Spain starting Saturday. Temperatures in parts of the south-east are expected to reach between 42°C and 44°C 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 warned that these high temperatures could increase the risk of forest fires next week and advised older individuals and those with cardiovascular conditions to take extra precautions during the daytime heat.
Aemet noted that last month was the second warmest June on record in Spain, only surpassed by June 2025, with an average temperature 3.2°C (5.8°F) above the norm.
June Heatwave Linked to Climate Change and Excess Deaths
Scientists have attributed the severity and extent of the heatwave, the most intense to affect western Europe, to human-induced climate change.
Preliminary data from Spain and France indicate that approximately 1,000 people died in each country due to the extreme heat. According to the Spanish health ministry’s daily mortality monitoring system, MoMo, there were 1,029 excess deaths linked to high temperatures in June.
France’s public health agency reported last Sunday that the 10-day heatwave in late June, considered the most extreme the country has experienced, caused about 1,000 additional deaths between 24 and 28 June compared with previous months. A final death toll has yet to be confirmed.
Nicolas Revel, head of hospitals in the Paris area, stated this week that he does not expect the excess death toll to reach the 15,000 recorded during France’s most severe heatwave in 2003,
“because we’ve made a lot of progress in many areas”.
However, he anticipates the number of heat-related deaths to exceed the 5,700 recorded last year.
Impact on Elderly and Emergency Services
The medical emergency service SOS-Médecins reported an 85% increase in deaths among people aged over 75 during the last two weeks of June. A total of 513 elderly individuals died during the week of 22 June, compared with 278 the previous week.
Call-outs for this age group, mainly for high temperature and anxiety, rose by 14%, while hospitalisations of people over 75 increased by 19%. Across all age groups, call-outs for heatstroke and dehydration surged by 480% and 315%, respectively.
Rising Drowning Deaths Amid Heatwave
Marina Ferrari, the French sports and youth minister, told French radio on Thursday that drowning deaths had risen to
“more than 90” since 19 June.
She added,
“It’s a worrying figure. 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.”
Wildfires and Emergency Response in Southern France
The extreme heat has created dry conditions in southern France, where firefighters are combating several wildfires exacerbated by strong winds.
Laurent Nuñez, the interior minister, reported that three fires, two of which started on the western edge of Marseille, have burned a combined area of 1,210 hectares (2,990 acres).
Air-Conditioning Demand Sparks Tensions in Paris
As high temperatures return to the Paris region, competition for air-conditioning units has become intense and occasionally violent.
Hundreds of people crowded Lidl supermarkets in and around Paris on Thursday, leading to scuffles and shouting as residents rushed to purchase affordable air-cooling units ahead of the anticipated heatwave.
With most air conditioners priced above €1,200 (£1,028), police were called to at least two stores where large crowds sought basic models priced as low as €179.
Mousa Traore, who waited for over an hour with around 200 others at a small Lidl store in northern Paris, said he was informed that only two units were available.
“But then the police came and we were told there were none. The police officers took them I think,”
he said, laughing.
Due to historically mild summers, few homes and schools in France are equipped with air conditioning, leaving them vulnerable to increasingly frequent heatwaves linked to climate change.
Similar scenes unfolded at a supermarket in Sevran, where cars queued and blocked the center of the economically disadvantaged northern suburb. The situation was comparable in the nearby suburb of Livry-Gargan.
One man expressed his frustration, saying,
“I give up, it’s madness. I abandoned my car several streets away to get there on foot but there is already a huge queue of people in the car park. It’s impossible.”
Agence France-Presse and contributed to this report.
