Europe saw at least 30,000 excess deaths across a blistering summer of back-to-back heatwaves and drought which scientists have blamed on man-made climate change, according to provisional figures.
Between mid-July and mid-August, the continent's EuroMomo monitoring platform estimates that Europe saw more than 32,000 excess deaths -- with summer yet to come to an end.
While EuroMomo does not publish breakdowns of deaths by country, various national health authorities have published provisional tolls covering comparable periods stretching roughly between the end of May and August.
An AFP count of those tallies found 33,000 excess deaths or deaths directly linked to the heat across just eight countries: Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
Scientists have shown that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming, primarily caused by burning coal, oil and gas -- and warn they are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.
