Spain and France are preparing for another potential heatwave that could push temperatures to 44C (111F) in the coming days, as new figures reveal that June's extreme heat led to more than 2,000 excess deaths across both countries.
Forecast for Spain
Spain's state meteorological agency, Aemet, announced that a mass of dry, very hot air will bring persistently high temperatures to much of Spain starting Saturday. Parts of the southeast could see temperatures reach 42C to 44C on Tuesday. Rubén del Campo, an Aemet spokesperson, stated: "Temperatures will begin to rise over the weekend and we can't rule out another heatwave." The agency warned that the high temperatures could increase the risk of forest fires next week and advised older people and those with cardiovascular problems to take extra precautions during the daytime heat.
Aemet reported that last month was the second-warmest June on record, surpassed only by June 2025, with an average temperature 3.2C (5.8F) above the norm. Scientists have attributed the June heatwave, the most severe and widespread to hit western Europe, to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning.
Death toll in Spain and France
Provisional data from Spain and France indicates that approximately 1,000 people died in each country due to the extreme heat. According to Spain's health ministry's daily mortality monitoring system, MoMo, there were 1,029 excess deaths attributable to high temperatures in June. France's public health agency reported on Sunday that the 10-day late June heatwave, described by experts as the most extreme the country has experienced, caused about 1,000 additional deaths between 24 and 28 June, though the figure is incomplete. A final toll has not yet been released.
Nicolas Revel, head of hospitals in the Paris area, said this week he did not expect the excess death toll to match the 15,000 recorded in 2003, France's most severe previous heatwave, "because we've made a lot of progress in many areas." However, he anticipated the number of heat-related deaths would be higher than the 5,700 recorded last year.
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 people died during the week of 22 June, compared with 278 the previous week. Call-outs to that age group, mainly for high temperature and anxiety, rose by 14%. Hospitalisations of people over 75 increased by 19%. Across all age groups, call-outs for heatstroke and dehydration soared by 480% and 315% respectively.
Wildfires and drownings
The extreme heat has created parched conditions in southern France, where firefighters are battling several wildfires fanned by strong winds. Interior minister Laurent Nuñez stated that three blazes, two of which broke out on the western edge of the Mediterranean port city of Marseille, had scorched a combined area of 1,210 hectares (2,990 acres).
Marina Ferrari, the sports and youth minister, told French radio on Thursday that the number of deaths by drowning had risen to "more than 90" since 19 June. "It's a worrying figure," said Ferrari. "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."
Violent scrambles for air conditioners in Paris
The return of high temperatures to the Paris region has led to sometimes violent competition for air-conditioning units. Hundreds of people besieged Lidl supermarkets in and around the French capital on Thursday, with scuffles and shouting matches breaking out as residents scrambled to get bargain air-cooling units before the next heatwave.
With few air conditioners on sale elsewhere for less than €1,200 (£1,028), police were called to at least two stores as huge crowds descended on Lidl supermarkets to buy basic models for as little as €179. Mousa Traore, who had waited for over an hour with about 200 other customers at a small Lidl store in a northern Paris neighbourhood, said he had been told there were only two units 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, making them ill-suited to face increasingly frequent heatwaves linked to human-induced climate change. Hundreds more people descended on a supermarket in Sevran, with queueing cars blocking the centre of the poor northern suburb. In the nearby suburb of Livry-Gargan, one man said: "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."
