June's Record Heatwave Claims 25 Lives in Alicante

June set absolute records across the peninsula, with temperature figures shattering all historical records since 1961. The average temperature was 23.6 ºC, nearly a degree higher than the previous records set in 2003 and 2017, the highest to date.

The exposure to high temperatures has harmful effects on the body, potentially causing dehydration, cramps, exhaustion, and in severe cases, heatstroke. Symptoms can range from dizziness, nausea, and loss of consciousness to the worsening of pre-existing heart or respiratory diseases, which can lead to death.

In the province of Alicante alone, the hottest month in history has resulted in 25 deaths attributable to high temperatures, which is four times more than the same period last year.

These figures are drawn from the Daily Mortality Monitoring (MOMO) tool of the Carlos III Health Institute, but it should be noted that they are statistical estimates based on the excess mortality observed during episodes of heat or cold. Therefore, they do not reflect deaths certified by direct causes, but rather the possible impact of extreme temperatures on the population's health.

Last summer, 208 deaths were recorded in the province of Alicante due to high temperatures, most of them in August (140). In June, six people died from these causes, a figure far from this year's 25. Meanwhile, a hundred people have died in Alicante this year due to extreme temperatures, 75 of them between January and February, suggesting that in these cases it was due to the cold.