
Madrid is the fourth European city that could register more deaths due to heat. This has been explained by the London School of Tropical Hygiene and Medicine in a study published in the journal Nature Medicine. By 74 years from now (2099), the experts estimate that 129,716 people in the capital will have lost their lives due to high temperatures, if measures are not taken immediately.
One of the authors of the study, professor and epidemiologist Pierre Masselot, clarifies that Madrid is not the only city in the country where extreme temperatures can cause irreversible effects. “Generally speaking, Spain is part of the hotspot of Mediterranean climate change. It is warming much faster than the rest of the planet,” he says. For this reason, the epidemiologist assures that heat-related deaths will increase rapidly throughout the peninsula over the next few years.
Which cities are above Madrid in terms of extreme temperatures? First of all, Barcelona. Researchers at the London school estimate 246,082 deaths in the Catalan city over the next 74 years due to extreme temperatures. In second and third place, two Italian metropolises: Rome (147,738) and Naples (147,248).
Although the study’s estimates may be alarming, its authors conclude that, by following a more sustainable path, millions of deaths could be avoided by the end of the century. Specifically, 70% of them.
Madrid, in the spotlight for high temperatures in 2024

Of the 2190 people who died from heat in Spain during the summer of 2024, more than 400 died in Madrid. The group most affected by the high temperatures was those over 65 years of age (more than 90% of those who died were in this age group).
Before deaths due to extreme temperatures increased in the capital, NASA prepared a study with an alarming prediction: from 2050 onwards, Madrid could be uninhabitable between July and August.