Europe recorded 10,000 excess deaths during late-June heat wave, data shows

Official mortality data tracking indicates that European nations recorded more than 10,000 excess deaths during a period of record-breaking heat in late June. Data pooled from 27 countries by the EuroMOMO network, which is supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization, confirms 10,650 excess deaths occurred during the week of June 22 to 28. This figure represents a notable departure from seasonal trends, as those same countries had recorded an average of 500 deaths per week below typical levels in the eight weeks prior to the event.

The human impact of the heat wave was largely concentrated among older populations. EuroMOMO reported that more than 9,000 of the recorded excess deaths involved individuals aged 65 and older. Health experts note that extreme heat can prove fatal by triggering heat stroke or aggravating pre-existing respiratory and cardiovascular conditions. While EuroMOMO does not release specific mortality counts for individual nations, it identified France and Belgium as the only countries to log "very high excess" mortality during that final week of June. According to the Belgian public health institute Sciensano, the death toll recorded in Belgium during this window reached the highest levels documented during any heat wave since 2000.

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French authorities reported approximately 1,000 additional deaths in the country, with officials at the public health agency Sante Publique noting that the total is likely to rise as further information becomes available regarding fatalities in residential care and private homes. The French health agency observed that the increase in deaths was sharpest in areas under extreme heat warnings, which at the peak of the event covered roughly three-quarters of the country.

"To have this kind of excess at this time of year is unusual. It’s really high. It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat."

Lasse Vestergaard, Chief Physician at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut, via Reuters

The heat wave triggered significant disruptions across the continent, shuttering schools, straining power grids, and shattering temperature records. In Germany, temperatures in Neißemünde reached 41.7 degrees Celsius, while the Czech Republic recorded its hottest day on record at 41.1 degrees Celsius. Infrastructure damage was widespread; in Leipzig, heat caused track sealant to clump and run, forcing a suspension of tram services, while highways in Germany experienced structural failures. In a separate incident, passengers were evacuated from an overheated train in Brandenburg after a storm caused power lines to fail, leaving the train without air conditioning.

Scientific analysis of the event suggests that the intensity of the heat was tied to global warming. Research conducted by Imperial College London, the UK Met Office, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine concluded that 2,700 people died from heat-related causes in England and Wales during the May and June heat waves, with 42 percent of those fatalities attributed to the additional heat contributed by global warming. Scientists involved in the broader EuroMOMO analysis stated there were no other known major factors, such as Covid-19 outbreaks, that would account for the sharp spike in deaths during late June.

The Copernicus Climate Change Service reported that June 2026 was the hottest June on record for Western Europe, measuring roughly 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than recent averages. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has called for accelerated national action plans, noting that Europe is currently the fastest-warming continent and that heat stress is a persistent "silent killer."