Europe’s 2026 heatwaves caused an estimated 50,000 deaths, study finds
Researchers estimate that heat killed more than 50,000 people in 854 European cities this summer, the highest toll in their records since 2000. A study in Nature Health attributes about 32,000 of those deaths to human-caused climate change; the estimates cover urban areas representing around 40% of the population in the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland.
Bottom line — The estimated toll exceeds the previous records of 29,000 deaths in 2022 and 28,000 in 2003.
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The researchers attribute 65% of heat deaths to climate change, up from about 40% at the start of the century.
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Italy had the highest estimated national toll, with 13,303 deaths, followed by France, Spain, Germany and the UK, according to Euronews.
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Nearly one-third of the estimated deaths occurred between 17 June and 1 July, when temperatures averaged 5.3°C above the norm, Euronews reports.
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People aged 85 and over accounted for roughly half the deaths; around 6,000 people under 65 also died, according to the researchers.
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The figures are modelled from temperature records and historical links between heat and mortality; they are not a count of confirmed deaths, the Guardian notes.
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The researchers caution that the city-based estimate cannot readily be extrapolated to towns and rural areas, the Guardian reports.