The heat wave that hit Spain for ten days caused the death of “more than 500 people,” President Pedro Sánchez said Wednesday during his visit to an area affected by a fire in the Aragon region.
“During this heat wave, according to the records, the data, there have been more than 500 people who have died as a result of such high temperatures,” said Sánchez, referring to an estimate of the increase in mortality made by a research institute. public health.
“I ask citizens to take extreme precautions,” requested the president, who repeated that “the climate emergency is a reality” and that “climate change kills.”
Sánchez used similar terms on other occasions during this latest heat wave that left highs of 45 degrees C in some areas and numerous fires that have devastated tens of thousands of hectares throughout the country.
The number of deaths is a reference to the estimates of the Carlos III public Institute, which makes a statistical calculation of the increase in mortality caused by causes such as rising temperatures, comparing these figures with the historical statistical series.
The institute said it was a statistical estimate and not an official death record.