Europe recorded more than 10,000 excess deaths during the extreme heatwaves that affected much of the continent in June, according to new figures from EuroMOMO, the European mortality monitoring system supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization.
The data shows that the overwhelming majority of the additional deaths occurred among people aged 65 and older, with more than 9,000 fatalities recorded in this age group. The heatwaves, which affected western parts of Europe toward the end of June, pushed temperatures to record levels in several countries and were linked to thousands of estimated heat-related deaths.
Researchers from the World Weather Attribution group said the June heat events would have been “virtually impossible” without the impact of human-caused climate change. Scientists concluded that rising global temperatures made the heatwaves more intense and more likely to occur.
The United Kingdom was among the countries heavily affected. A study published on Monday estimated that at least 2,700 people died in England and Wales as a result of heatwaves that struck in May and June.
The research was carried out by experts from Imperial College London, the UK Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, who used weather records, climate models and previous studies on heat-related mortality to estimate the impact.
