Nearly 10,000 people have died in connection with high temperatures in Germany this year, more than in any full year since 2016, according to estimates from the Robert Koch Institute.
The institute estimated 9,800 heat-related deaths between the beginning of April and July 19. The previous highest annual figure of the past decade was around 9,000 in 2018.
What the mortality figures tell us
More than 5,000 of this year's deaths were linked to the intense heatwave in the second half of June, when temperatures approached 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas.
The European Union's Copernicus climate service said June 2026 was the hottest June ever recorded in western Europe.
