Around 16,000 more people than usual died across Europe: The wider industry impact

Temperatures exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit across large parts of Spain and Italy in late June

Around 16,000 more people than usual died across Europe during a week of extreme heat in late June, according to a report based on European mortality data. Meanwhile, Brussels recorded its hottest day on record on August 14, reaching 35.9C, Belgium’s IRM weather agency said, according to AFP. The areas home to at least 150 million people experienced temperatures above 35 degrees celsius that day. A previous major heatwave in 2022 was associated with just over 16,000 excess deaths in Europe in one week, according to European Mortality Monitoring Network data. The difference was that the most severe temperatures in 2022 were concentrated in southern Europe.

The New York Times reported that June ended as western Europe’s hottest June on record. Earlier, Reuters reported in July that the heatwave disrupted power supplies, forced school closures and broke temperature records in France, Spain and the UK.

Euro MOMO does not publish country-level excess mortality figures, but said France and Belgium were the only European countries to record “very high excess” mortality in the final week of June. The sharp rise in deaths came as temperatures surged across much of the continent. The episode came as Europe continued to face another round of extreme heat in August. Researchers use excess deaths, the number of deaths above what would normally be expected based on historical patterns, to assess the health impact of extreme temperatures.