A two-year-old girl has died from heatstroke in north-western Spain after she was accidentally left inside her father’s car for several hours during an intense early summer heat spell.
The incident occurred on Wednesday in the Galician town of Brión, where temperatures had risen sharply amid unusually hot weather sweeping across much of the country.
According to Spanish media reports, the child’s father had planned to drop her at nursery after taking an older sibling to school earlier that morning. However, he reportedly became distracted by a phone call and drove directly to work, unknowingly leaving the toddler inside the vehicle.
The tragedy came to light at around 3pm when the girl’s mother arrived at the nursery to collect her daughter and was informed the child had never been dropped off.
Realising what had happened, the parents alerted emergency services. The girl was rushed to a medical centre in nearby Bertamiráns, but doctors were unable to save her and she was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Authorities have launched an investigation into the incident, while local officials confirmed the family is receiving psychological support.
Town Declares Mourning
The Brión Town Council declared two days of official mourning following the child’s death and announced a minute’s silence would be observed on Friday.
“We would like to offer our deepest condolences and all our support to the family of the little girl who lost her life in Brión,” the council said in a statement.
Spain Faces Unseasonal Heat
The tragedy unfolded as Spain experiences unusually high temperatures more commonly associated with the height of summer.
Spain’s state meteorological agency, Aemet, warned that temperatures in some southern regions could reach between 36C and 38C in the coming days.
The agency described the heat as “exceptionally high” for this time of year and warned that several areas could break temperature records.
“Throughout May, we have recorded a prolonged period of below-normal temperatures,” Aemet said. “Now comes the complete opposite: a period of very high temperatures for this time of year across most of the country.”
Although officials said the conditions do not yet technically qualify as a heatwave, forecasters expect the hot spell to continue into next week.
Climate Concerns Intensify
Spain is considered one of Europe’s countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change and has experienced increasingly severe heatwaves and wildfires in recent years.
A 2022 study by Aemet found that temperatures above 30C now arrive between 20 and 40 days earlier on average than they did seven decades ago.
Aemet spokesperson Rubén del Campo previously warned that rising temperatures were transforming Spain’s climate.
“The summer is eating up the spring,” he told Spanish newspaper El País, adding that the country’s climate had become “more extreme.”
Spain recorded its highest-ever temperature in August 2021, when temperatures reached 47.6C in the Andalusian town of La Rambla near Córdoba.
