At least 35,000 more people died across Europe this summer than would normally be expected, as four consecutive record-breaking heatwaves swept the continent from May onwards — and experts warn the final toll will be significantly higher once all countries have compiled their data. The figures, still incomplete and covering barely half of Europe's nations, already represent one of the deadliest heat events in the continent's recorded history.
The three largest contributors so far are Germany, France and Spain, which together account for more than 25,000 of the excess deaths. Germany has been hit hardest: its Robert Koch Institute public health agency estimates 14,000 heat-related deaths between early April and mid-August, including 9,600 in a single week in late June — the highest weekly excess mortality rate recorded in any EU country since 2008, surpassed only by a week in July 2022 when Covid-19 was still active. France, where 98% of the country was placed under heat alerts at one point and more than 500 weather stations recorded temperatures above 40°C, reported 7,300 excess "all causes" deaths between late May and late July, with August figures still pending. Spain's health monitoring system attributes 4,947 deaths to heat between May and mid-August, making 2026 its worst year on record — surpassing even 2022.
Other countries have reported significant tolls. England recorded an estimated 2,877 heat-associated deaths during the May and June heatwaves alone. Belgium saw a 39% surge in mortality over roughly ten days in late June, equating to 1,222 additional deaths. The Netherlands reported at least 900 excess deaths over a similar period. Italy, whose reporting system relies on local municipal data and is subject to considerable delays, has yet to publish a consolidated national figure, though epidemiologists estimate between 5,000 and 8,000 heat-attributable deaths once records are fully compiled. Smaller totals have emerged from Poland, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Greece, Romania, Bulgaria and Denmark.
Scientists attribute the severity of the heatwaves directly to human-driven climate change, which is making such extreme events both more frequent and more intense. Attribution is complicated by the fact that heat is rarely listed as a direct cause of death: in most cases it exacerbates pre-existing cardiovascular or respiratory conditions, with victims ultimately dying of heart attacks, strokes or kidney failure. The World Health Organization has warned that heat-related mortality in its European region has risen by more than 30% over the past two decades and is on course to climb further as the climate crisis deepens and Europe's population ages.
Adding to concern about long-term trends, ocean surface temperatures also broke records this summer, reaching a global average of 21.1°C — the highest since measurements began in 1979, according to the European Copernicus climate monitoring programme. Marine scientists warn that warming oceans are becoming less able to absorb excess heat and CO₂, acting as a feedback loop that intensifies extreme weather on land. As provisional death tolls continue to rise and August data is still being consolidated across much of Europe, the full human cost of this summer's heat is not yet known.