Europe Saw Over 10,000 Excess Deaths During Late-June Heatwave, Data Shows

A record-breaking heatwave that swept across Western Europe in late June corresponded with more than 10,000 excess deaths, according to official data from a European health monitoring network. The vast majority of these deaths, over 9,000, occurred among individuals aged 65 and older.

Atypical Mortality Spike

The data, compiled by EuroMOMO from national statistics across 27 European countries, registered a total of 10,650 excess deaths from all causes during the week of June 22 to 28. EuroMOMO is a monitoring network supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization.

Lasse Vestergaard, a Chief Physician at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut which hosts EuroMOMO, told Reuters that the figure was "unusual" and "really high" for the time of year. He noted that while the data reflects all-cause mortality, there were no other known major factors, such as significant COVID-19 outbreaks, that could explain the spike. "It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat," Vestergaard added.

Regional Impact and Vulnerable Groups

Extreme heat poses a significant risk to human health, capable of causing heat stroke or aggravating pre-existing cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, particularly among the elderly. EuroMOMO's analysis highlighted France and Belgium as the two countries experiencing "very high excess" mortality during the last week of June.

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Belgium’s public health institute, Sciensano, reported that the country's excess mortality during the event was the highest recorded for any heatwave in its records, which date back to 2000. The heatwave also caused widespread disruption, including power supply issues and school closures, and broke temperature records in France, Spain, and the UK.

Climate Context and Further Research

Scientists have increasingly linked the frequency and intensity of such extreme weather events to human-caused climate change. A separate scientific study published on Monday estimated that 2,700 people died from heat-related causes in England and Wales alone during the heatwaves in May and June.

That study, conducted by Imperial College London, the UK Met Office, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, found that 42% of those deaths were directly attributable to the additional heat contributed by global warming. The EuroMOMO data may be subject to revision as more complete statistics become available.