Europe heatwave linked to 1,300 deaths, WHO says

Europe’s early summer heatwave has been linked to more than 1,300 excess deaths as temperature records fell again across the continent, the head of the World Health Organization said Sunday.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X that the deaths had been recorded since June 21 and were “linked to high temperatures in Europe.” He warned that the toll reflected the growing health risks of extreme heat in a region warming faster than the global average.

“Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ — and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” Tedros said. “Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average.”

France’s public health agency reported around 1,000 excess deaths since Wednesday, according to the BBC. Al Jazeera reported that the agency, which operates under the French Ministry of Health, said most fatalities involved older people and that the mortality rate was expected to rise as more information came in from homes and residential care facilities. The agency said most deaths involved people aged 65 and older, though the health effects of the heat have affected the wider population.

French Health Minister Stephanie Rist told La Tribune that the impact of the heatwave could last up to 10 days. “The episode is not finished,” she told broadcaster BFM.

The heatwave, which began affecting Europeans around June 20, has forced museums and schools to close early in some areas. Tedros said millions were living under extreme heat, with “hundreds” dead, schools shut and power grids under strain. He urged European countries to “implement heat health action plans” to protect people as climate change intensifies heat risks.

Germany recorded its hottest day ever for the third consecutive day Sunday, according to preliminary data cited by the BBC. A weather station in Coschen, near the Polish border in eastern Brandenburg, reached 41.7 degrees Celsius at about 4 p.m. local time.

Poland also broke its all-time temperature record, reaching 40.5C in Slubice, a spokeswoman for the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management told AFP. The Czech Republic set its second temperature record in two days, with 41.1C recorded at Doksany, north of Prague, the Czech meteorological institute CHMI said. CHMI said it expected the heat to peak Sunday, with heavy storms forecast in western areas later.

Al Jazeera, citing AFP estimates, reported that at least 191 million people in Europe were forecast to experience temperatures of at least 35C on Sunday, with the heat particularly intense in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland. Slovakia, Serbia, Croatia, Italy, Austria and western Ukraine were also expected to be affected.

In Germany, at least seven people died in swimming accidents over the weekend as residents sought relief in lakes and rivers, Al Jazeera reported, citing the dpa news agency. German police said at least two people died in separate swimming accidents in Berlin on Saturday.

Germany’s weather service said the temperature in Kubschuetz, in the east, did not fall below 29.4C on Saturday night, making it the warmest night since records began almost 150 years ago, according to Al Jazeera.

Tedros said climate change was responsible for the extreme weather. “Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the ‘once-in-a-generation’ heatwave is now occurring nearly annual,” he said. Al Jazeera reported that scientists said the heatwave would have been virtually impossible without man-made climate change, and that the recent heat was caused by an omega block, a weather pattern that traps a bulging mass of hot air over regions for extended periods.