Europe heat wave tied to more than 10,000 excess deaths
Mortality monitors and national agencies report sharp death increases during record June heat, with older people accounting for most of the toll.
By Maya Lindqvist · Senior Technology Correspondent
3 min read
Europe’s early-summer heat wave coincided with a sharp rise in deaths, with mortality records showing well over 10,000 more people died during the peak than would normally be expected. The figures point to the growing health risk from extreme heat, especially for older people, as Europe enters another dangerous summer.
The EuroMOMO mortality monitoring network, which collects data from two dozen countries, estimated 14,260 excess deaths from all causes in the week ending June 28. EuroMOMO said more than 12,000 of those deaths were among people 65 and older, out of 84,583 total deaths reported that week.
Lasse Vestergaard of Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut, which coordinates EuroMOMO, told The Associated Press the heat wave was the likely explanation because no other clear factor accounted for such a high rise. EuroMOMO found the highest excess mortality rates in France, Belgium and Germany, though it does not publish absolute country totals.
Excess mortality measures the gap between expected deaths and actual deaths. Public health experts cited by the AP caution that complete totals can take time to settle and that many heat-related deaths are not recorded that way on death certificates, including cardiac deaths triggered by extreme heat.
National tallies show broad impact
Germany’s Robert Koch Institute attributed 6,830 deaths to heat this year through early July, including 6,470 among people at least 65 years old. The German Weather Service said temperatures reached 41.7 Celsius, or 107.06 Fahrenheit, on June 28, the country’s highest measurement since records began.
Britain’s Met Office said an estimated 2,700 people died from heat-related causes during heat waves in England and Wales in May and June. The agency put about 550 deaths in late May and about 2,200 in late June, after national records were set for May at 35.1 Celsius and June above 37 Celsius.
France’s public health authority said deaths in the week of June 22-28 were at least 2,000 higher than the previous week, when temperatures had already started to rise. Meteo France said the national thermal indicator reached 30 Celsius on June 24 and 25, France’s hottest days on record, and more than 40% of the country saw peak temperatures above 40 Celsius.
Spain’s Carlos III Health Institute, an official monitoring agency, attributed an estimated 937 deaths in June to excess heat. AEMET, Spain’s weather agency, said the month was the country’s second-hottest June on record, with temperatures 3.2 Celsius above the normal monthly average and a five-day heat wave that repeatedly pushed readings above 40 Celsius.
Belgium recorded 1,747 deaths above expected levels during the heat wave from June 18 to July 1, according to Sciensano, the country’s public health institute. The IRM weather institute said temperatures reached 35.5 Celsius on June 26.
The Netherlands had an initial estimate of 480 excess deaths linked to the June heat wave, according to the public health service. Dutch weather officials registered 36.8 Celsius, the country’s highest June temperature on record and more than 1 degree Celsius above the previous mark set in 1947.
The AP reported that Europe has seen several deadly heat waves in recent years, while 2003 remains the continent’s deadliest heat year, with about 70,000 deaths. Climate scientists cited by the AP say heat waves are becoming more frequent and more intense as climate change is driven by the burning of coal, oil and gas.
This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.