Summer has begun in Alicante with one of the hottest starts on record, with temperatures surpassing 40 degrees and a heat wave that has killed 24 people.
The intense sun that shines over the province is a double-edged sword, resulting in the highest number of heat exhaustion and associated difficulties in recent years at the start of the summer.
With more than two deaths from extreme temperatures since the season began on June 21st, 2025 is shaping up to be the coldest summer on record.
An analysis of heat-related death data in Alicante from the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) reveals a concerning trend, with just two weeks of summer remaining.
Alicante is worse off than Valencia or Castellón, as the Valencian capital has not registered any deaths this summer, while Castellón has only had three.
A comparison with past academic years reveals that rising temperatures directly correlate with more deaths.
The province’s suffocating harsh climate has already claimed 24 lives (27 since April) as of July 1st, the final day documented, equating to an average of more than two deaths per day (2.18).
This is the biggest number of deaths related to high temperatures in this time period in recent years, with statistics tripling from previous years.
From June 21st to July 1st, 2024, just three people died from heat-related causes, or one every four days. This represents a 700% increase by 2025.
Last year, over 200 people died as a result of high temperatures, with August being the most deadly month, with up to 140 deaths, an average of more than 4.5 per day. This year, there’s a risk of surpassing the previous year’s figure, potentially reaching 200 deaths in August.
In 2023, the figure was slightly higher, with eight deaths throughout the aforementioned time and an average of 0.73 deaths per day. However, the current summer marks a 200% rise over that year. In reality, the total number of deaths has increased thrice.
Looking back to 2022, the number of deaths had escalated to eight by this point, a stark contrast to the alarming figures for the current year.
But what was mortality from high temps like a decade ago?
The ISCIII keeps the oldest data from the 2015 academic year, thus data from a decade earlier can be compared to observe how the number of victims has evolved.
In 2015, there were 13 heat-related deaths over the summer, averaging 1.18 per day. By 2025, the figure will have nearly doubled, representing an 85% rise.
Author: Derek Appleton
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