GENEVA: The World Health Organization said that over 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded in Europe since June 21 in connection with the record-breaking heatwave roasting much of the continent. Tens of millions have been braving a weekend of extreme temperatures in Europe as a deadly heatwave moves eastwards, with some countries announcing rising death tolls and health services warning of saturation.
On Sunday morning, French health officials said there had been around 1,000 more deaths than expected in that country just since Wednesday.
And across Europe, "more than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded since 21 June linked to high temperatures in Europe", WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X. "Heat stress is often called the 'silent killer' — and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures," he said.
At least 191 million people are forecast to endure temperatures of at least 35°C in Europe, with the heat particularly intense in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, according to estimates. A total of 381 million people in Europe, excluding Türkiye, will see temperatures surpass 30°C, according to analysis based on forecasts from the German Meteorological Service and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Centre collated by Austrian NGO Klimadashboard.
Millions of people across the continent are currently "living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling", Tedros warned. "Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the 'once-in-a-generation' heatwave is now occurring nearly annual," he said, pointing out that "Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average".
The WHO chief said the United Nations health agency was "working with its Member States and partners to address the health threats posed by extreme heat through focusing on preparedness, prevention and stronger health system responses". He called on European countries to "implement heat health action plans", as part of a push to safeguard health in the face of climate change.
The French public health agency said most of the heat-related fatalities involved older people, warning that the number was expected to rise as more information became available about deaths in residential care and private homes. Scientists have said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was the worst recorded in Europe, and the blistering conditions have disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed healthcare systems.
The heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change, which has made this week's soaring night-time temperatures 100 times more likely than they would have been just two decades ago, according to scientists.
Thunderstorms could hit parts of France and Germany over the next day or two, with cooler weather forecast in much of Western Europe this week as the heatwave moves deeper into Central Europe and the Balkans, meteorologists say. France's weather agency said the extreme heat had diminished in most parts of the country, but some areas in the northeast were still subject to a heat advisory. Health Minister Stephanie Rist told La Tribune newspaper the impact of the heatwave could linger for as long as 10 days after the weather had ebbed. — AFP/Reuters
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