The insightful article Heat-related urban mortality attributable to human-induced climate change in Europe in summer 2026 highlights the record impact of heatwaves on mortality in Europe, with excess deaths exceeding the combined total from the previous heatwaves of 2003 and 2022. The heatwaves of 2026 significantly affected not only the elderly but also young adults. This research highlights a temperature rise of 2.6 °C in southern Europe (which already exceeds the 1.5 °C threshold set by the international Paris Agreement) and covers some 22 million people across 44 Spanish cities, for which they estimate an excess mortality of 6,824 deaths (during the months of June to August), 77 per cent of which are attributable to anthropogenic warming, primarily due to the combustion of fossil fuels.
The authors compare their methodology with the official environmental monitoring systems in Spain, France and the United Kingdom. They emphasise the need for public policies to tackle the climate emergency with a clear ‘zero emissions’ target. It should be recalled that in Spain, the heatwaves of October 2024 and 2026 caused 232 and four deaths respectively; the 21st-century mega-forest fires (covering more than 500 hectares) were associated with around 70 deaths. Furthermore, the Spanish daily mortality monitoring system (MoMo) attributed 4,744 deaths in 2022, 3,009 deaths in 2023, 3,832 deaths in 2025 and 5,807 deaths in 2026 to the high temperatures recorded (all of which occurred between 15 May and 30 September). We hope that future research will examine the effect of heatwaves on specific causes of death throughout the year and that Spain will be in a position to participate