Spain Faces Significant Human and Economic Losses from Extreme Weather, Ranking Second in 2024

In 2024, Spain suffered devastating economic and human consequences due to extreme weather events, ranking as the second most affected country worldwide after the United States. Torrential rains caused estimated economic losses of $11 billion—the worst catastrophe in Spain’s recent history—while the U.S. faced $84 billion in damages owing to hurricanes Helene and Milton. Over the last 30 years, between 1995 and 2024, Spain has been among the 24 countries most affected by extreme weather phenomena, enduring 35,422 deaths mainly caused by heatwaves, notably the 2003 heat wave, according to the Global Climate Risk Index (GCRI) 2026 by Germanwatch. In 2024 alone, Spain recorded 232 fatalities during a severe DANA (Depresión Aislada en Niveles Altos) weather event in October.

Globally, the past three decades have seen more than 832,000 deaths across 9,700 extreme weather events, inflicting around $4.5 trillion in economic damages, disproportionately impacting poorer countries. Approximately 40% of the global population lives in the 11 most affected countries, including India, China, and Dominica, the latter being historically the hardest hit nation by climatic disasters, such as the catastrophic Hurricane Maria in 2017.

The GCRI ranks Spain 24th for vulnerability over 30 years but saw its 2024 ranking fall to 20th from 7th the previous year. Compared to European neighbors, Spain's climate risk surpasses that of Greece (28th) and the Netherlands (74th) but is lower than France (12th) and Italy (16th). Laura Schäfer, co-author of the report, emphasized that heatwaves and storms are the most lethal and financially damaging weather events, respectively, while floods impact the largest numbers of people. The report underscores the urgent need for enhanced global emissions reduction and adaptive strategies to mitigate the escalating threats posed by climate change, which now directly endangers human security and livelihoods worldwide.

These findings highlight Spain’s increasing vulnerability amid the global climate crisis and reinforce calls for accelerated climate action ahead of major international negotiations, including COP30 in Bethlehem.