The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that the unprecedented heatwave sweeping across Europe may already have contributed to more than 1,300 excess deaths, raising fresh concerns about the growing health impacts of climate change.
In a post on X, WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said preliminary data indicate that since June 21, the ongoing heatwave has been associated with at least 1,300 excess deaths across Europe.
He described extreme heat as a “silent killer,” noting that its health impacts are often not immediately visible but can have devastating consequences, particularly for vulnerable populations.
According to Tedros, much of Europe’s housing, schools and commercial buildings were not designed to withstand prolonged periods of extreme heat. As a result, sustained high temperatures are placing increasing pressure on public health systems, electricity grids and daily life across the continent.
France’s Ministry of Health reported that since last Wednesday, the country has recorded around 1,000 additional deaths, with the majority occurring among people aged 65 and older. Authorities also said deaths occurring at home have risen by nearly 40 percent during the same period.
Tedros warned that Europe is now the fastest-warming continent in the world, with millions of people exposed to dangerous heat conditions. In several countries, schools have been closed, while soaring electricity demand has placed significant strain on power grids.
Germany, meanwhile, recorded a new national temperature record for the third consecutive day on Sunday. The mercury reached 41.7 degrees Celsius in the eastern part of the country, with the reading recorded at around 4:00 p.m. local time at a weather station in Coschen, Brandenburg, near the Polish border.
The Czech Republic also registered a second straight day of record-breaking temperatures. According to the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI), temperatures reached 41.1 degrees Celsius in Doksany, north of Prague. The institute also warned that severe thunderstorms could develop later in the country’s western regions.
In Poland, the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management (IMGW) reported a new national temperature record of 40.5 degrees Celsius, measured on Sunday in the town of Słubice.
The WHO chief attributed the increasingly frequent and intense heatwaves to climate change and global warming, warning that extreme heat events once expected only once in a generation are now becoming an almost annual occurrence.
Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP) and the World Health Organization (WHO).