BRUSSELS — Record-breaking heat across Europe has contributed to thousands of excess deaths this summer, with older people accounting for the vast majority of deaths recorded during a major late-June heatwave, according to European mortality data and national health authorities.
EuroMOMO, a European mortality monitoring network supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization, reported 10,650 excess deaths across 27 countries during the week of June 22-28, when extreme heat peaked across western Europe. More than 9,000 of those deaths were among people aged 65 and older.
The figures measure deaths from all causes above expected levels rather than deaths formally certified as heat-related. EuroMOMO said there were no other known major factors, such as a COVID-19 outbreak, that could explain the sharp increase. The data may be revised as additional mortality records become available.
“To have this kind of excess at this time of year is unusual. It’s really high,” Lasse Vestergaard, chief physician at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut, which hosts EuroMOMO, told Reuters. He said it was difficult to explain the increase by anything other than extreme heat.
National data have also shown substantial increases. France’s public health agency estimated 5,764 excess deaths during its June 17-July 2 heatwave, the highest excess all-cause mortality recorded during a heatwave in the country since 2003.
The World Health Organization said in July that data from five European countries already showed nearly 10,000 excess deaths attributable to heat during the summer. WHO has described Europe as the fastest-warming continent, with temperatures rising at roughly twice the global average rate.
The heat burden has continued into August. The European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said on Monday that western Europe experienced its hottest June-July period on record, while another heatwave brought record temperatures to parts of central and eastern Europe.
Extreme heat can cause heatstroke and worsen cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses. Older people, along with other vulnerable groups, face elevated risks during prolonged periods of high temperatures.
Scientists have said human-caused climate change has increased the likelihood and intensity of the extreme heat affecting Europe. The full mortality impact of this summer’s later heatwaves remains under assessment, with health authorities continuing to collect and analyze death data.
