2 hours ago

Europe Saw Deaths Spike During Brutal June Heat Wave

Western Europe recorded more than 10,000 excess deaths during an unprecedented June heat wave, an analysis finds.

Last month was the hottest June on record in Western Europe, measuring 5.5 degrees F warmer than the recent average, according to the E.U. Copernicus Climate Change Service. The June data "underscored how profoundly the climate is changing," said Samantha Burgess, deputy director of Copernicus.

During the late June hot spell, temperatures in parts of Europe were 16 degrees F warmer than usual, according to Copernicus. Britain saw heat surpassing 98 degrees F, while France recorded temperatures up to 109 degrees F.

With the stifling heat came a spike in deaths. Western European countries saw 10,000 more deaths than would usually be expected in late June, according to EuroMOMO, a network backed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Of those, more than 9,000 were among people 65 or older, a group that is highly vulnerable to extreme heat.

The increase in deaths runs counter to typical seasonal trends. Normally, mortality peaks in the middle of winter, as cold settles in and flu spreads, before reaching a low in the summer. "To have this kind of excess at this time of year is unusual. It's really high," Lasse Vestergaard, of the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, which hosts EuroMOMO, told Reuters. "It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat."

A separate study found that in England and Wales alone, the June heat wave was responsible for more than 2,200 deaths. The analysis further estimated the number of deaths that were a result of the excess heat brought about by global warming. It found that 38 percent of mortalities could be attributed to climate change.

"It's time we woke up to the fact that we now live in a country with dangerously hot summers," said Clair Barnes of Imperial College London. "To protect people during future extremes, we must urgently adapt to the reality of the climate we now have and double down on global efforts to reach net zero emissions to stop this from getting worse."