Europe’s early heat wave led to a spike in deaths, may have killed over 10,000
AFP analysis found the highest June excess-death rate since 2020, with older adults hit hardest as record temperatures swept several countries.
- Provisional data from the European Mortality Monitoring recorded 14,260 excess deaths across 24 European countries during the final week of June, marking the highest rate for any June week since 2020.
- All-Time temperature records fell across several European countries in June, as scientists from The World Weather Attribution group stated these heat levels would be "virtually impossible" without climate change.
- Data from Germany and Belgium showed 5,780 and 1,747 excess deaths respectively, while Spain's MoMo monitor attributed 610 deaths to heat, with nearly two thirds of victims more than 85 years old.
- Hans Henri Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, warned that governments must treat heat as a health emergency, stating, "This is not a natural disaster and it's repeating itself every year."
- EuroMOMO coordinator Lasse Vestergaard urged caution regarding these figures, noting it takes four weeks for estimates to consolidate as officials emphasize that summer heat risks remain ongoing.
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Between June 22 and 28, the peak period of the heat wave in several countries, about 10,000 excess deaths have already been recorded by the national institutes of seven countries: Germany, France, Belgium, Spain, Holland, Switzerland and Luxembourg. New York City is taken by smoke from forest fires in Canada; see video Storm in Chile leaves at least three dead and dozens of affected To these numbers are added 2,200 other heat-related deaths in E…
The highest excess mortality rates were observed in France, Belgium and Germany.
Europe heatwave linked to more than 10,000 excess deaths
Europe recorded more than 10,000 excess deaths during the late June 2026 heatwave, with older people accounting for most fatalities. New mortality data and research point to one of the deadliest early summer heat events on record.
While the number of deaths caused by the extreme weather episode of June is becoming clearer, "Libé" wanted to go beyond the cold statistic and tell these broken lives that do not have a monument to the dead.
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