At least 12,000 excess deaths were recorded across nine European countries during June’s intense heatwave, according to an AFP analysis of national statistics, with the death toll expected to rise as more data becomes available.
The heatwave saw several European countries set all-time temperature records, while the United Kingdom and Switzerland registered their hottest June temperatures on record. Although the mortality figures remain provisional, they provide an early indication of the human impact of increasingly frequent extreme heat events.
AFP examined excess mortality data from June 22 to 28 in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland. During the peak of the heatwave, nearly 10,000 excess deaths were reported across those countries.
In England and Wales, Britain’s Met Office estimated that another 2,200 deaths between June 18 and 28 were linked to the extreme temperatures.
Provisional figures from the European Mortality Monitoring (EuroMOMO) also showed a sharp increase in excess deaths during the final week of June, estimating 14,260 deaths based on official statistics from 24 countries representing around 400 million people. The figures do not include parts of eastern Europe.
World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Director for Europe Hans Henri P. Kluge warned that “The summer is not yet over.”
“This is not a natural disaster and it’s repeating itself every year because too many governments are still treating heat as a weather event rather than a health emergency,” he said.
He added, “The tools to prevent most of these deaths exist. The guidance is published. The evidence is there.” Stressing the need for action, he said, “What governments do next is a choice, and this summer shows what’s at stake.”
EuroMOMO’s data indicates that the final week of June recorded the highest rate of excess deaths for any June week since the organisation began compiling Europe-wide mortality figures in 2020.
The only summer week with a higher mortality rate during the past seven years occurred in July 2022, when Covid-19 was still circulating widely across Europe.
Lasse Vestergaard, an epidemiologist at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut and coordinator of EuroMOMO, said, “There’s no other reasons for excess mortality that we know of than heat — and it’s quite dramatic.” However, he cautioned that the latest estimates remain preliminary, noting that EuroMOMO typically requires four weeks for mortality data to be fully consolidated.
National authorities have also revised their initial estimates upward since the end of the June heatwave.
Countries have used different methods to calculate heat-related mortality. Spain’s MoMo monitoring system attributed 610 deaths to the heatwave between June 22 and 28, with nearly two-thirds of the victims aged over 85.
Germany, meanwhile, recorded 5,780 excess deaths during the same period compared with the average for the previous four years, according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The agency also reported 7,100 excess deaths over the preceding two weeks compared with expected mortality levels.
