Heatwave in Germany kills over 5,000 people

Around 5,120 people have died in Germany due to heatwaves since the beginning of the year, with the majority of deaths recorded during a heatwave in June that lasted for over a week in Western Europe.

Reuters reports this with reference to the Robert Koch Institute for Public Health (RKI).

According to the institute, most of the dead are people over the age of 75. About 4,270 deaths were recorded in this age group.

The EU’s Copernicus climate change service reported that Western Europe experienced its hottest June on record, with an average temperature of 20.74 degrees Celsius.

In late June, temperatures in parts of Germany exceeded 40 degrees Celsius. The RKI noted that many buildings in the country, including hospitals and nursing homes, are not equipped to handle such heat because they do not have air conditioning systems.

Meanwhile, more than 4,700 additional deaths were reported in France, Belgium, Spain and the Netherlands during the heat wave from June 20 to 28.

German Green Party leader Katharina Droege accused Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government of failing to respond adequately to the heatwave and weakening climate legislation, saying 120 people died in Cologne alone over the weekend of June 27-28, four times the normal rate.

Recall that the June heat wave that swept Europe has already led to about 3,700 additional deaths in France, Belgium and the Netherlands. The highest number of victims was recorded in France, where more than two thousand people died due to high temperatures.

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