Más de 1.100 muertes atribuibles en España a la ola de calor

A resident look at the rubble of houses destroyed by a wildfire in the Spanish northwestern village of San Vicente de Leira, in Ourense province, on August 19, 2025. Spain still faces "difficult hours" ahead in its fight against wildfires that have ravaged a record area of land, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned today, despite the onset of cooler weather. The country has faced 16 days of scorching heat, which the public health agency announced today could be linked to as many as 1,149 excess deaths -- mostly over-65s and those already suffering from illnesses. The most intense heat, when temperatures surpassed 40C in many regions of Spain, has now passed but Sanchez urged people to "exercise extreme caution", adding: "Critical moments remain, difficult hours remain." (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP)

Redacción19/08/2025

Más de 1.100 muertes se pueden atribuir a la ola de calor de 16 días que acaba de terminar en España, según estimaciones del Instituto de Salud Carlos III (ISCIII).

El número exacto de fallecidos atribuibles a esta ola de calor, que se extendió del 3 al 18 de agosto, asciende a 1,149, según el sistema “MoMo” del ISCIII, que estudia las variaciones de la mortalidad general diaria respecto a lo que sería esperable según las series históricas.

A continuación, integra los factores externos que pueden explicar esta diferencia. Entre estos factores figuran, en particular, las temperaturas comunicadas por la Agencia Estatal de Meteorología (Aemet).

El sistema no puede establecer una causalidad absoluta entre las muertes registradas y las condiciones climáticas, pero las cifras constituyen la mejor estimación del número de muertes en las que la ola de calor pudo ser el factor decisivo.

Ya en julio, MoMo había atribuido unas 1,060 muertes al calor, lo que supone un aumento de más del 50% con respecto a julio de 2024.

Picture shows a burnt area after a wildfire in the northwestern Spanish village of San Vicente de Leira in Ourense province, on August 19, 2025. Spain still faces “difficult hours” ahead in its fight against wildfires that have ravaged a record area of land, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez warned today, despite the onset of cooler weather. The country has faced 16 days of scorching heat, which the public health agency announced today could be linked to as many as 1,149 excess deaths — mostly over-65s and those already suffering from illnesses. The most intense heat, when temperatures surpassed 40C in many regions of Spain, has now passed but Sanchez urged people to “exercise extreme caution”, adding: “Critical moments remain, difficult hours remain.” (Photo by MIGUEL RIOPA / AFP)

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