The record heatwave of last month has caused thousands of deaths in Western Europe. It is one of the deadliest climate disasters to hit the continent.
The heatwave, which started around June 18 and lasted until July 1, broke records in several countries. Scientists have found that the extraordinary temperatures would have been practically impossible without human-induced climate changes caused by the burning of fossil fuels.
Preliminary official data on mortality and estimates from researchers in the six most affected countries indicate at least 14,000 additional deaths during the extreme heat period, according to an analysis by Politico.
The data includes approximately 2,000 additional deaths in France, 1,740 in Belgium, 6,800 in Germany, and 480 in the Netherlands, as well as 810 deaths directly attributed to heat in Spain and an estimated 2,200 heat-related deaths in the United Kingdom.
A dataset published on Monday by EuroMOMO – a mortality monitoring service supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization – indicated that the 27 EU member countries reported an excess of 10,650 deaths during the period of June 22–28. These figures may change as more data becomes available.
This excess represents an increase in mortality compared to average levels. Although the figures include deaths from any cause, this indicator is used to quickly assess the impact of heatwaves.
Precisely determining the number of heat-related deaths is a complex task, as high temperatures cause deaths not only through heatstroke but also by exacerbating pre-existing conditions, as mentioned by the cited publication.
"It is highly plausible that these figures are primarily linked to heat," said Lasse Skafte Vestergaard, chief physician at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark (the institution hosting EuroMOMO), referring to the service's conclusions.
"There are no other obvious explanations or public health threats in Europe at present that could explain this phenomenon. And the numbers are truly unusual in magnitude," he said.
The EuroMOMO data does not present the situation broken down by each country, but the service mentioned that the number of excess deaths was particularly high in France and Belgium towards the end of June.
However, many of the Western European countries affected by the heatwave have published preliminary data on mortality during the heatwave in recent days, and in other states, researchers have made an initial estimate of the toll.
Here are some of these estimates:
France
In France, where temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius, the public health agency announced at the beginning of July that 2,025 excess deaths were recorded during the period of June 22–28, representing a 29% increase compared to the previous week.
Most of these additional deaths occurred among individuals aged 45 and over.
The Île-de-France region, which includes Paris, recorded a particularly high increase in the number of deaths that week – 619 deaths above average – corresponding to a 62.8% increase.
The health agency warned that this figure could be underestimated.
Belgium
The Public Health Institute Sciensano announced that it recorded 1,747 excess deaths compared to the average mortality during the period of June 18 – July 1. The French-speaking region of Wallonia was the most affected, with 919 additional deaths, representing a 76% increase.
Although the elderly are the most at risk of death during heatwaves, Sciensano noted that 280 of these additional deaths occurred among individuals under 65, adding that this was the deadliest heatwave in Belgium since data monitoring began in 2000.
Germany
In the week of June 22–28, Germany recorded 6,800 excess deaths compared to the average, according to the statistical office.
The national public health authority, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), also developed a model to estimate heat-related mortality; last week, the institute estimated that 5,100 deaths could be attributed to the high temperatures recorded so far in 2026, most of which occurred during the June heatwave.
RKI added that these figures could be an underestimation.
Spain
From June 18–30, Spain recorded 812 excess deaths compared to the average directly attributable to heat-related causes, according to the monitoring system of the Carlos III Health Institute, a national public research institution.
Although Spain faced extreme heat, with temperatures well above 40°C in some areas, a large proportion of Spanish homes have air conditioning: approximately 40%, compared to the European average of 20%.
Netherlands
The national public health institute recorded 480 excess deaths compared to the average in the week of June 22–28, but cautioned that a "full picture" will only be obtained after additional data becomes available in a few weeks.
Most deaths occurred among individuals over 80 years old, the institute noted.
United Kingdom
Scientists announced on Monday that they estimate 2,200 people died from heat-related causes in England and Wales during the period of June 18–28.
It is estimated that during May and June, 2,700 people died due to high temperatures, according to researchers – including specialists from Imperial College London, the UK Met Office, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
They also calculated that 42% of these deaths can be attributed to the rise in temperatures caused by climate change.
"These record heatwaves once again demonstrate that the climate crisis is not a threat of the future," said UK Energy Minister Ed Miliband in response to these findings.
T.D.