Europe heatwaves linked to 33,000 deaths, AFP count finds

Europe’s summer heatwaves were linked to at least 30,000 excess deaths, with an AFP count of national provisional figures finding 33,000 excess deaths or heat-linked deaths across eight countries.

The count covered Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain, using national health authority figures for broadly comparable periods between late May and August.

EuroMomo, Europe’s mortality monitoring platform, estimated more than 32,000 excess deaths across Europe between mid-July and mid-August alone. Its latest weekly estimates put the summer’s deadliest week in late June, with nearly 16,000 excess deaths, followed by about 8,000 in the first week of July.

The figures remain provisional and are expected to change. EuroMomo’s model uses official statistics from 23 European countries and excludes part of eastern Europe. It does not publish country-by-country breakdowns.

Germany recorded 14,000 heat-linked deaths up to August 9, a record in data kept by the Robert Koch Institute since 2016. The institute said people over 75 were the most affected.

France reported 7,300 excess deaths from late May to July 22, with its tally likely to rise after a long heatwave that began in late July. Spain’s Carlos III Health Institute recorded nearly 4,500 heat-linked deaths from June 1 to August 19, the highest for that period since 2022.

England recorded an estimated 2,877 heat-related deaths during May and June heatwaves, according to the UK health and safety authority, close to its 2022 summer total of 2,985. Belgium estimated 2,570 excess deaths between June 18 and July 17, and the Netherlands recorded 968 excess deaths between June 22 and July 5 in AFP’s analysis of RIVM public health figures.

Austria’s AGES health and food security agency listed 396 heatwave-related deaths in June. Portugal recorded more than 600 excess deaths between mid-June and the end of July, according to DGS health authority figures analysed by AFP.

A separate AFP analysis of official temperature and population data found that Europe’s summer heatwaves pushed temperatures above 40C in areas inhabited by 80 million people from mid-June to mid-August. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service said western Europe had its hottest recorded start to summer in 2026.