More than 10,000 people have died in Europe due to record heat.

At the end of June, the record heat wave that swept through Western European countries could have killed more than 10,000 people.

Reuters reports this, citing official data and scientists’ estimates.

According to preliminary estimates, 10,650 excess deaths were recorded in the 27 countries of the European Union between June 22 and 28. More than 9,000 of these deaths were among people aged 65 and over.

“Such an excess at this time of year is unusual. It’s truly very high. It’s difficult to explain this level of excess mortality other than the extreme heat,” said Lasse Westergaard, chief medical officer at the National Serum Institute of Denmark, during the EuroMOMO conference.

Scientists also note that the heat wave in late June would have been “virtually impossible” without human-induced climate change, which is making periods of extremely high temperatures more frequent and intense.

Reuters clarifies that the statistics cover excess mortality from all causes, not just those directly related to heat. However, the researchers note that there were no other significant factors during this period, specifically no new waves of COVID-19, that could explain the sharp rise in deaths. High heat waves were recorded in France, Spain, the UK, and several other European countries.

As a reminder, the June heat wave that swept across Europe has already resulted in approximately 3,700 additional deaths in France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. The highest death toll was recorded in France, where over 2,000 people died due to the high temperatures.

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