Extreme heat in Europe claimed over 10,000 lives in just one week

The extreme temperatures that swept across Europe in late June have led to catastrophically high mortality rates on the continent. Data from the EuroMOMO mortality monitoring network shows that 10,650 excess deaths were recorded in 27 European countries in just one week (between June 22 and June 28).

According to Lasse Westergaard, Chief Medical Officer at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, this is an unusually high level of mortality for this time of year. He emphasizes that it is difficult to find any other explanation for these figures besides the extreme heat.

Statistics show that the majority of the victims – over 9,000 people – are individuals over the age of 65. The most serious percentage of excess mortality was noted in Belgium, marking the highest level recorded in the country during a heatwave since 2000.

The EU's climate service, Copernicus, confirms the severe meteorological conditions, noting that June was one of the hottest months in the region's history. The average temperature in Western Europe exceeded the climate norm by more than 3°C, which is a record deviation. This heat is affecting large-scale countries such as France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.