The victims of the heat in Spain rise to 510 in a week, 150 on Saturday alone, where in recent days even 45 degrees have been reached. This was announced by the Ministry of Health of Madrid, on the basis of the findings of the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) referring to the period from 10 to 16 July. According to the IscIII daily mortality monitoring system, deaths quadrupled from 15 to 60 in the four days from 10 to 13 July. The figure then jumped further to 93 last Thursday and 123 Friday, before reaching a peak of 150 on Saturday. There are fears that the death toll is still rising.
The heat mainly affects the elderly, with 321 of the 510 victims aged 85 and over, 121 between 75 and 84 and 44 between 65 and 74. However, deaths are also recorded among the youngest, as in the case of the two Madrid municipal workers who died of heat stroke. Among the youngest victims there is also a firefighter and a shepherd, who died in the fires that are engulfing Spain as well as some other areas of southern Europe. This is Spain’s second summer heat wave. The previous one, from 11 to 17 June, caused 829 deaths, according to IscIII.