Europe records 10,000 excess deaths during late-June heatwave, data shows

European countries reported more than 10,000 excess deaths during the record-breaking heatwave that engulfed the west of the continent in late June, with the vast majority more than 9,000 among people aged 65 and above, according to data published by EuroMOMO, a network backed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization.

Extreme heat can kill by causing heat stroke or aggravating cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, with older people among the most vulnerable. “To have this kind of excess at this time of year is unusual. It’s really high,” Lasse Vestergaard, Chief Physician at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut, which hosts EuroMOMO, told Reuters. “It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat,” he added.

Scientists have said the late-June heatwave would have been “virtually impossible” without human-caused climate change, which is making heatwaves more frequent and intense. The data, pooled from national mortality statistics in 27 European countries, included excess deaths from all causes during the week of June 22 to 28, when the heatwave peaked in France, Spain, Britain, and other countries. Scientists said there were no other known major factors, such as COVID-19 outbreaks, that would have contributed to the spike of 10,650 excess deaths in that week.

EuroMOMO noted that France and Belgium were the only two countries in Europe to log “very high excess” mortality in the last week of June. Belgium’s excess mortality was the highest during any heatwave in records going back to 2000, according to the country’s public health institute Sciensano. A separate scientific study, published on Monday, estimated 2,700 people died from heat-related causes in England and Wales alone during the May and June heatwaves. Of those deaths, 42% were caused by the extra heat that global warming contributed to the heatwaves, according to findings by Imperial College London, the UK Met Office, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The data underscores the deadly impact of climate change on human health, as heatwaves become more frequent and severe. The EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service has confirmed that June 2026 was the hottest June on record globally. The EuroMOMO data highlights the urgent need for governments to implement heat action plans, protect vulnerable populations, and accelerate efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. As the climate continues to warm, such extreme events are expected to become more common, with potentially devastating consequences for public health.