Spain Records Hottest Summer on Record in 2025 as Wildfires Rage

MADRID — Spain sweltered through the hottest summer since records began in 1961, the country's national weather service said Tuesday, registering an average temperature of 24.2°C (75.5°F) between June 1 and Aug. 31.

That average surpassed the previous national record of 24.1°C set in 2022 and stood 2.1°C (3.7°F) above the 1991–2020 normal, the agency said. The highest single-day temperature was 45.8°C (119.3°F), recorded in Jerez de la Frontera on Aug. 17 during a heat wave that affected much of southern Spain.

The scorching temperatures coincided with widespread dryness and a devastating run of wildfires that burned a record 382,000 hectares (944,000 acres) across Spain, according to data compiled by the European Union’s European Forest Fire Information System. That figure eclipses the previous high of 306,000 hectares (756,000 acres) recorded in 2022. Authorities said the northwest of the country was particularly dry, and many of the fires did most of their damage in those areas.

European climate monitoring agency Copernicus has found that Europe has warmed about twice as fast as the global average since the 1980s. The United Nations has reported that the broader Mediterranean region is heating up roughly 20% faster than the world as a whole. Scientists say those trends are increasing the frequency and intensity of heat and dryness in southern Europe, raising risks to public health and heightening susceptibility to wildfires.

Spanish health and emergency services issued heat warnings and mobilized firefighting resources throughout the summer as municipalities faced prolonged high temperatures and reduced humidity. Hospitals in some regions reported higher numbers of heat-related admissions, particularly among older adults and people with preexisting conditions, officials said.

The national weather service’s record follows several consecutive years of extreme heat in Spain and across the Mediterranean. Researchers attribute the rising temperatures and altered precipitation patterns primarily to the accumulation of greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas.

European and international agencies have emphasized that the new record comes amid a broader pattern of climate change-driven extremes. The agencies say such conditions are likely to continue without accelerated global reductions in greenhouse gas emissions and increased investment in adaptation measures to protect vulnerable communities, critical infrastructure and forests.

Spanish government officials face mounting pressure to bolster fire prevention, emergency response capacity and water management as assessments of this summer’s damage continue. Officials and analysts said a full accounting of economic and ecological losses from the fires and heat will take weeks to complete, including assessments of agricultural impacts and forest recovery.

For residents and policymakers, the extreme summer underlines long-standing warnings from scientists that climate change is intensifying heat waves and droughts across southern Europe, with cascading impacts for public health, ecosystems and the economy.