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Alicante bears the brunt of Spain's deadly summer heat as temperature-linked deaths climb
More than 120 deaths have been linked to extreme temperatures in just one month, with Alicante accounting for over half of the Valencian Community's total
The province of Alicante has emerged as the hardest-hit area in the Valencian Community during the first month of summer, with 126 deaths estimated to be linked to extreme heat between June 21 and July 20.
The figures, published by the Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo), show Alicante accounting for more than half of the 238 heat-related deaths recorded across the community during the period. Valencia registered 70 deaths and Castellón 42.
The impact of the extreme temperatures has also been felt in neighbouring Murcia. According to the data, 22 deaths linked to high temperatures were recorded in the Region of Murcia during July alone.
The toll makes this the deadliest start to summer in the Valencian Community since the monitoring system began collecting comparable data in 2015. That year, 162 heat-related deaths were recorded over the same timeframe, significantly fewer than this summer's total.
Older people continue to be the most vulnerable. The overwhelming majority of those who died were aged over 65, while men accounted for 126 of the deaths and women 112.
The most severe impact came during the heatwave that gripped much of Spain in early July. Between July 6 and 12, an estimated 104 people died as temperatures soared across the region. A further 62 deaths were recorded during the following week, from July 13 to 19.
Earlier periods of extreme heat also took a heavy toll. Between June 22 and 28, another week affected by unusually high temperatures, 47 deaths were recorded. A further 20 deaths were estimated between June 29 and July 5.
The latest data also attributes five deaths to high temperatures on Monday July 21, indicating that the effects of the ongoing hot spell are continuing to be felt.
July 10 was the deadliest single day, with an estimated 22 heat-related deaths. The days immediately before and after also saw exceptionally high mortality figures, with 20 deaths recorded on July 9, 19 on July 11 and 17 on July 12. July 13 accounted for a further 15 deaths.
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