The vast majority of those who died were people aged 65 and over.
Heatwave in Europe / © Associated Press
During the record-breaking heatwave that gripped Western European countries at the end of June, over 10,000 excess mortality cases were recorded.
This is reported by Reuters.
According to the EuroMOMO monitoring network, supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO), over 10,000 excess mortality cases were recorded in Europe due to the extreme heat.
More than 9,000 of the deceased were individuals aged 65 and older.
“This surplus at this time of year is unusual. It is indeed very high. It is difficult to attribute such a high level of excess mortality to anything other than extreme heat,” stated Lasse Vestergaard, Chief Medical Officer of the Danish State Serum Institute.
Scientists also emphasize that the heatwave at the end of June would have been “virtually impossible” without anthropogenic climate change, which makes such weather events more frequent and intense.
Reuters clarifies that the data from 27 European Union countries reflect excess mortality from all causes, not just those directly attributed to the heat.
Concurrently, researchers note that between June 22 and 28, there were no other significant factors, such as new waves of COVID-19, that could explain the sharp increase in deaths to 10,650 cases. This period coincided with the peak of the heatwave in France, Spain, the United Kingdom, and other countries.
EuroMOMO does not publish individual statistics for each nation but indicates that France and Belgium were the only European countries to record a “very high” level of excess mortality in the last week of June.
According to the Belgian health institute Sciensano, the excess mortality in the country was the highest recorded since 2000 during any heatwave period.
Furthermore, a separate scientific study published on Monday indicated that in England and Wales alone, approximately 2,700 people died from heat-related causes during the heatwaves in May and June.
Reuters also notes that the abnormal heat at the end of June caused power outages, school closures, and the setting of new temperature records in France, Spain, and the United Kingdom.
It was previously reported that heat is expected again in Ukraine towards the end of next week, with air temperatures potentially exceeding +30°C.
We previously informed that Europe is preparing for a new temperature rise following the record heatwave that has already resulted in thousands of additional deaths.
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