Nearly 2,150 people died in Spain in August from heat-related causes, official figures show, cited by "Reuters".
The figures come after record-breaking heatwaves swept across Western Europe this summer.
Data from the Health Ministry's MoMo daily mortality monitoring system showed 2,149 additional heat-related deaths last month. This is the second highest number for August since records began in 2015, with more cases only last year — 2,184.
According to MoMo's estimate, 5,234 people died from heat-related causes between May 15 and August 31. This is the highest number of deaths recorded for the summer period since the monitoring system was introduced in 2015, and does not include data for September.
The most deaths in August were recorded in the northeastern autonomous region of Catalonia - 1,164. The regions of Valencia and Andalusia followed with 227 and 138 deaths respectively.
Of the deaths, 1,283 were women and 866 were men. 2,064 of the victims were over 65, with 1,285 of them over 85.
Extreme heat can cause death through heatstroke or by worsening cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, with the elderly among the most vulnerable.
The Spanish meteorological agency AEMET said that a period of unusually hot weather is expected for early September from Thursday, which is likely to last until the end of the week. Temperatures will rise significantly above seasonal norms.
Maximum temperatures are expected to exceed 35 °C in much of inland Spain, with the heat accompanied by widespread tropical nights, during which temperatures will not fall below 20 degrees.