<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;">Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said Wednesday that “more than 500 people” died during a 10-day heatwave in Spain, one of the most intense ever recorded in the country.</span><br></div><div><br></div><div>Sanchez cited figures released Monday from the Carlos III Health Institute which estimates the number of heat-related deaths based on the number of excess deaths when compared to the average in previous years.</div><div><br></div><div>The institute has stressed that these figures are a statistical estimate and not a record of official deaths.</div><div><br></div><div>“During this heatwave, more than 500 people died because of such high temperatures, according to the statistics,” Sanchez said.</div><div><br></div><div>“I ask citizens to exercise extreme caution,” he said, noting that the “climate emergency is a reality.”</div><div><br></div><div>Spain was gripped by a heatwave affecting much of Western Europe which pushed temperatures as high as 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) in some regions last week, sparking dozens of wildfires.</div><div><br></div><div>The blazes forced the evacuation of thousands of people and claimed at least two lives — that of a firefighter and a shepherd who got caught up in the flames in northwest Spain.</div><div><br></div><div>The July 9-18 heatwave was one of the most intense ever recorded in Spain, meteorological agency AEMET said Wednesday.</div><div><br></div><div>“At a minimum, it is the third most intense heatwave in terms of its geographic extension and duration” since modern records began in 1975, AEMET spokeswoman Beatriz Hervella said.</div><div><br></div><div>Only two other heatwaves lasted longer — one in July 2015 that lasted 26 days and another in August 2003 that went on for 16 days, she added. - AFP&nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>