Amid heatwaves in Europe, at least 35,000 additional deaths recorded
Kyiv • UNN
This summer, heat claimed at least 35,000 lives in Europe. The highest number of deaths was recorded in Germany, France and Spain.
At least 35,000 more people than normally expected died in Europe this summer during four record-breaking heatwaves in a row, according to incomplete data obtained from almost half of the continent, The Guardian reports, writes UNN.
Details
According to preliminary data, excess mortality in just the three largest EU countries — Germany, France and Spain — has already exceeded 25,000, and experts say the death toll will rise significantly after the overall data for August are compiled.
Successive heatwaves in Western Europe have broken historical temperature records at hundreds of weather stations since May, while France recorded the hottest day averaged across the country in the entire history of observations.
Records were broken for three consecutive days in Germany at the end of June, when temperatures exceeded 40°C at 46 stations, while Spain experienced sustained highs above 42°C. Scientists say that human-caused global warming is making such extreme events more frequent and intense.
The highest number of deaths has been recorded in Germany, where approximately 14,000 heat-related deaths from 6 April to 9 August were reported at the end of last week. The health agency of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) reported that 9,600 people died in just one week, from 22 to 28 June.
Systematically collected excess-mortality data across the EU, available since 2008, show that the only other summer week when a higher level of additional deaths was recorded was July 2022, when Covid-19 was still active.
This summer was the worst on record in Germany for the number of heat-related deaths since records began. The previous high in the EU's most populous country was 8,900 in 2018. According to the RKI, the number of heat-related deaths during a typical summer is often below 2,000.
Data from the Carlos III Health Institute's mortality-monitoring system indicate that 4947 deaths in Spain can be attributed to heat from May through this week, making 2026 Spain's worst year on record for heat-related deaths, surpassing the 4520 deaths recorded in 2022.
A final determination of the cause of death can take weeks or even months, and many countries have not yet released data even for the beginning of August. Karl Lauterbach, Germany's former health minister, said last week that the data published so far would probably prove to be underestimates.
In France, where more than 500 weather stations recorded temperatures above 40°C and, at one point, 98% of the country was under a heat alert, the national health agency said last week that the number of excess deaths "from all causes" from the end of May to 22 July was 7300. August data were not yet available, and the initial figures were based on electronic death certificates, which account for only 80% of total mortality, the statement said.
In Italy, modelling shows that 2700 more people than usual died between 22 and 28 June alone, while epidemiologists said that the total number of heat-related deaths in the country would probably be between 5000 and 8000 by the time they were officially registered.
Other European countries that have already reported excess deaths include the United Kingdom, where the health agency said in July that its modelling showed that the heatwaves in May and June had caused 2877 heat-related deaths in England.
Belgium said its preliminary data showed that mortality rose by 39% between 18 and 29 June, equivalent to 1222 additional deaths, while the Netherlands said that at least 900 more people than usual died between 22 June and 5 July.
According to rapid modeling cited by the European Commission, 1,070 more people than usual died in Poland during the heatwave at the end of June, while data from the Swiss health authority indicate 220 cases of excess mortality linked to the heat during the same week.
Preliminary data from Luxembourg, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Denmark indicate approximately 40 cases of excess mortality in each of these countries. Agence France-Presse calculated that temperatures exceeded 40°C this summer in areas where more than 80 million Europeans live.
The World Health Organization said in May that heat-related mortality in the European region had increased by more than 30% over the past 20 years and was highly likely to rise significantly as a result of the climate crisis and an aging population.