Europe’s unprecedented early summer heatwave may be responsible for hundreds of excess deaths, according to the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO).
Temperature records were broken across the continent again on Sunday – including in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic – as the extreme heat continued to move east.
In a post on X, WHO chief Tedros Ghebreyesus says more than 1 300 excess deaths had been recorded since 21 June “linked to high temperatures in Europe”.
“Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” he says.
On Sunday morning, France’s national health ministry said there had been around 1 000 more deaths than expected in the country since Wednesday.
Many of the extra fatalities are among those aged 65 over, the agency says, after logging a 40% rise in the number of people dying at home.
“Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average,” Tedros warns.
On Sunday, Germany experienced its hottest-ever day for the third consecutive day after 41.70C was recorded in the east of the country, preliminary data shows.
“Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the ‘once-in-a-generation’ heatwave is now occurring nearly annually,” Tedros says.
He calls on European countries to “implement heat health action plans”, as part of a push to safeguard health in the face of climate change.
The extreme weather has led European authorities to take drastic measures to prevent heat-related illnesses.
On Thursday, the Dutch music festival Defqon.1 was cancelled. In Paris, officials banned drinking takeaway alcohol in public and cancelled the city’s pride march to help stretched emergency services.
The ban began at noon on Friday local time ahead of France’s World Cup match with Norway and lasted until Sunday morning.
– BBC
