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This study investigates the health impacts and excess mortality associated with the 2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout.

July 23, 2026Nature Communications2 citationsOpen Access

Excess mortality attributable to the 2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout

GKGaryfallos Konstantinoudis JRJulien Riou

Key Points

This study investigates the health impacts and excess mortality associated with the 2025 Iberian Peninsula blackout.
Analyzed mortality data from Spain and Portugal following the power outage on April 28, 2025.
Assessed direct and indirect health effects attributed to the blackout.
Considered regional variations in mortality and underlying vulnerabilities.
In Spain, increased mortality was observed with 167 additional deaths (+2.4% relative increase) in the following two days.
No significant excess mortality was found in Portugal on the day of the blackout.
Higher mortality rates were particularly noted among women aged 85 and older.

Abstract

On 28 April 2025, a widespread power outage affected mainland Portugal and Spain for around ten hours, causing major disruptions and eight reported deaths. Health impacts of blackouts range from direct effects, such as medical equipment failure, to indirect effects such as disrupted healthcare. Here we show that the 2025 Iberian blackout is associated with increased mortality in Spain, but not in Portugal. We find little evidence of excess mortality on the day of the event itself. In Spain, however, mortality rises over the next two days (+167 deaths; 95% credible interval: +28 to +300; +2.4% relative increase), particularly among women aged 85+. We also observe regional differences, but their drivers remain uncertain and may include variation in outage severity, underlying vulnerabilities, or local health-system and infrastructure conditions. These findings highlight the underestimated health burden of blackouts and the need for improved preparedness in a changing climate.

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