Germany's public health authorities have recorded an estimated 5,120 heat-related deaths this year, most during a late June heat wave.
The latest figure already surpassed the annual average of about 2,900 heat-related deaths recorded between 2023 and 2025, according to a Robert Koch Institute (RKI) report released Thursday.
The RKI report on heat-related mortality is based, among other things, on monitoring death records from the Federal Statistical Office and data from the German Weather Service (DWD).
The institute estimated that heat-related deaths surged by 4,310 during the week of June 22-28, when Germany experienced its most intense heat. Temperatures soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of the country during that period.
For the period from April through June 21, the RKI had estimated 810 heat-related deaths. However, an RKI spokeswoman said that virtually all of these deaths took place during the week of June 15-21.
