More than 3,000 elders have died by heat this summer

The heat wave leaves more than 1,000 largest dead: “It is a real public health problem”

The heat waves that Spain have hit this summer They have left record temperatures In good part of the country, such as the 44 ° C reached in southern Alicante or the 45.1 ° C that were recorded in Murcia Capital on August 18, the day the Aemet ended the last wave, which began on the 3rd of this month.

And, unfortunately, these prolonged periods of continued heat have also translated into thousands of deaths, Above all, of older people.

Since the summer season began on May 15 to August 27, 3,475 people over 65 have died due to causes related to excess temperatureaccording to estimates of the MOMO system of the Carlos III Health Institute.

These deaths represent 96% of deaths for this reason (3,620 deaths in total) and, more precisely, most are concentrated in the age range more than 85 years –2,360 deaths.

“The fact that older people represent such a high percentage is to a certain expected extent, because It is a collective crossed by multiple vulnerabilities, from biological to social. Therefore, unfortunately they become Diana for extreme temperatures, in this case heat. This is the trend, thus behaves every year, always above 95% if we see Momo’s data, “he explains Pilar Serrano Gallardo, President of the Madrid Public Health Association (AMASAP).

Could have been prevented

You have to go back to 2022 – which had an extremely torrid summer – to find such high figures of major mortality in summer, which highlights, according to the experts consulted by 65 and morethe need to implement prevention measures to reduce the risks associated with high temperatures, more, if these heat periods become increasingly common.

He believes Lorenzo Armenteros del Olmospokesman for the Spanish Society of General and Family Physicians (SEMG): “We are getting late to a prevention that we should have started a couple of years ago. This number of deaths, in many cases, could have been prevented, since the fragile population can control it in a different way than what we did so far. “

Armenteros considers that heat deaths are already a “public health problem” that makes it necessary to address this problem by several ways, and proposes for example, control chronic patients with concrete treatments or inform about the problems that may arise when they are exposed continuously (heat waves) at very high temperatures: “The damage not only occurs by direct heat, but also by continued heatin a more difficult way to diagnose because the symptomatology is more imprecise and nonspecific. Sometimes we don’t find the affected organ until it is too late. “

The doctor also emphasizes that, although both WHO and the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control consider an emerging public health problem, in Spain we are still far from giving it that consideration: “Every year we can increase the number of deaths because we have a very vulnerable population. It is an aging population, with the worst thermoregulation, more comorbidity, polymedication and also affected by social factors such as loneliness, precarious homes and energy poverty. ”

2,070 dead in August

Estimation of deaths from older people for heat -related causes between May 15 and August 27, per year. Source: ISCIII.

Of the 3,475 deaths in over 65, 2,070 were registered between August 1 and 27, 2025, which represents almost 60% of the deaths (59.56%), also coinciding with the last heat wave registered in Spain that began on day 3 and lasted until August 18.

These data far exceed those of last year, when the number of deaths between the beginning of the summer and on August 27, 2024, It stood at 1,885 dead over 65. This means that the number of deceased over 65 years in 2025 It is approximately 9.8 % greater than that of the same period in 2024.

Armenteros insists that the problem is predictable and avoidable: “The heat waves are prevented from days in advance and is avoidable at low cost. We can insist on hydration, on house ventilation measures, in monitoring the medication, in home visits. Hence the important role of primary care and the lack of specific protocols. They are simple measures, low cost, but what is needed is a proactive response, not reactive.”

And he adds: “Now we are seeing the Momo data, which are after, when it has already happened. What we have learned in the last five years should serve to act quickly. A specific prevention plan for the effects of excess temperature is necessary, not only for heat blows. “

The expert denounces that “we have been in the expert of continuous growth of heat. It is everyone’s co -responsibility, but It is an irresponsibility of the authorities not to provide tools and media to primary care. We need prevention campaigns in all homogeneous, integrated and evaluable media and plans. It’s time to act. “

The elderly, very vulnerable to heat

Older people are especially sensitive to heat, since with age their ability to regulate body temperature decreases. According to Lucía Martínez Manrique, vice president of the Madrid Public Health Association, this is due to factors such as “the redistribution of body fat, the reduction of blood flowthe least functioning of the sweat glands and the decrease in thirst feeling ”, which increases the risk of dehydration.

In addition, vulnerability is aggravated by multimorbility, pharmacological treatments and social factors As housing without air conditioning, difficulties of access to fresh places, living alone, caring for dependent people or having little social support. They also influence energy poverty and bad housing conditions. Martínez Manrique emphasizes that residing “on the last floors, lacking acclimatization or elevator measures” further increases risk exposure.

Recommendations for the elderly

The SEMG spokesman claims that primary care is the starting point for prevention: “We must detect the vulnerable, monitor their homes, work in a coordinated manner with educators, family members and socio -health residences. Hydration as a basic measure should be fundamental and mandatory in residences. We now act almost opportunistically, when the patient reaches the consultation, but we cannot reach those who do not go.”

There are three fundamental measures to avoid suffering complications due to high temperatures: protecting from heat, reducing risks and consulting with health professionals to symptoms that can alert a heat stroke or other heat effects in the body, explained to us on occasion Lucía Martínez ManriqueVice President of the Madrid Association of Public Health.

For put these measures into practice, The expert tells us what habits we can implement in our day to day:

• Stay at home during the hottest hours of the day.

• Ventilate in the freshest hours and use awnings and blinds to avoid housing overheating.

• Dress with baggy and fresh clothes.

• Use cap or hat, sunglasses and sunscreen for the skin when you go out.

• Opt for fresh and healthy diet.

• Avoid alcohol consumption.

• Increase fruits and vegetables intake.

• Increase hydration.

• Refresh the body with wet cloths or showers to mitigate the effects of heat.

Keep medications in a dry placereview chronic treatments and consult with the GP in case some rate of exchange or adjustment had to be performed during this period, it is another recommendations of the expert.

“Another essential element is Early detect the effects of heat on the bodyso health professionals should be resorted to situations of discomfort, dizziness or nonspecific symptoms. It is especially critical to recognize the signs of the heat blow: very high body temperature (greater than 40 ° C), hot skin, dry and reddened, intense thirst, headache, nausea, drowsiness, as well as episodes of confusion, loss of consciousness or seizures. In all these cases, health care should be requested urgently, “concludes Martínez.

National Heat Plan 2025

Heat is no longer just a summer discomfort: it is a serious risk to health that aggravates diseases, multiplies inequalities and causes more than 2,000 deaths a year.

We launch the heat plan to protect those who suffer the most. Receive alerts in https://t.co/ezjb7dc07e pic.twitter.com/tegezu1fo

– Mónica García (@monica_Garcia_G) June 5, 2025

To try to deal with heat, the Ministry of Health activated on May 16 the National Heat Plan 2025, which will remain active until September 30: “Heat affects us all, but does not affect us all equally. It is very dependent on the existence of risk factors“explained the head of health and climate change of the Ministry of Health, Héctor Tejero, in the presentation of this plan, according to Europa Press.

The system establishes four risk levels (green, yellow, orange and red) according to thermal intensity and its impact on health. One of the main novelties is that now these levels adapt to the vulnerability of each person, considering factors such as age, chronic diseases, pregnancy, social or labor conditions, and the quality of housing. Thus, the same alert level can have different implications for the general population or for more fragile groups, such as over 65 years or people with several risk factors.

The plan divides Spain into 182 Zones of “Meteosalud”each with a threshold of risk calculated by the Carlos III Institute of Health, which allows to adjust the measures to the particularities of each territory. In addition, it has an accessible notice system on the web meteosalud.es and by free subscription to SMS or emails, to keep citizens informed about the daily risk in their area. In shortthe plan seeks to anticipate the effects of extreme heat, protect the most vulnerable groups and reduce hospitalizations and deaths related to heat waves.

For now There is no data on the effectiveness of this plansince the Ministry will take a balance at the end of the summer season, with key indicators as a number of alerts issued, days on alert, subscriptions (SMS and mail), mortality due to exposure to heat and excess deaths estimated by Momo, among others.