Germany registered around 14,000 heat-related deaths this summer as Europe struggled through a series of punishing heatwaves, worse than a previous record high in 2018, official data showed Thursday, France 24 reports.
Around 9,600 of those deaths were recorded in one week in late June when Germany baked in temperatures of over 40°C, according to the Robert Koch Institute. The heatwaves and drought have fuelled a historically hot summer in Europe, contributing to a spike in heat-related mortality in the worst-hit countries. Spain's public health institute registered nearly 4,500 heat-related deaths since June 1, figures showed Thursday. French health authorities said they had seen more than 7,300 excess deaths over the same period.
In Germany, the largest share of heat-related deaths occurred in the over-75 age group, the public health authority said in a statement. "In some cases – such as heatstroke – exposure to heat leads directly to death, whereas in most instances, death results from a combination of heat exposure and pre-existing medical conditions," said its report. "Consequently, heat is not usually listed as the underlying cause of death on the death certificate; instead, statistical methods must be employed to estimate the extent of heat-related deaths."
Looking back at recent years, the institute said it recorded 8,900 heat-related deaths in 2018, a figure which dropped to 2,000 or below in other years such as 2016. "These differences can be attributed to the varying severity of the heatwaves," it said.
This summer, heat and drought have battered Europe's biggest economy, also fuelling wildfires, reducing crop yields and dropping water levels in major rivers used for cargo shipping.
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