Europe recorded 10,000 excess deaths during late-June heatwave, data show
Official data reveals that Europe experienced over 10,000 excess deaths during a record-breaking heatwave in late June, with the elderly being the most affected demographic. Scientists attribute the intensity of this event to human-caused climate change.
Why it matters
The data highlights the increasing public health risks posed by extreme weather events linked to global climate change.
European countries reported more than 10,000 excess deaths during the record-breaking heatwave that engulfed the west of the continent in late June, official data showed.
The vast majority — more than 9,000 — were among people aged 65 and above, according to data published by EuroMOMO, a network backed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization.
Extreme heat can kill by causing heat stroke, or aggravating cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, with older people among the most vulnerable.
"To have this kind of excess at this time of year is unusual. It’s really high," Lasse Vestergaard, Chief Physician at Denmark's Statens Serum Institut, which hosts EuroMOMO, told Reuters.
"It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat," Vestergaard added.
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