Women use electric fans to cool off during a heat wave in Paris on July 10, 2026. [Photo/Agencies]
At least 35,000 excess deaths have been recorded during heat waves that have scorched Europe this year, The Guardian newspaper has reported.
The final death toll is likely to be far higher because data is not yet available for half of Europe's nations, and because none have yet published excess death totals for August.
The provisional death toll has prompted the US credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings to warn that Europe's heat waves will cause a spike in insurance claims, and increase the cost of life insurance and medical insurance.
It said insurance companies will have to pay many extra claims, including for crop damage caused by droughts, and devastation left by wildfires.
