More than 10,000 excess deaths were recorded across Europe during the record-breaking heatwave that swept across western parts of the continent in late June, according to newly released official data.
Figures published by EuroMOMO a mortality monitoring network supported by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Health Organization (WHO) show that over 9,000 of the 10,650 excess deaths occurred among people aged 65 and older.
Health experts say the scale of the increase is highly unusual for this time of year.
“To have this kind of excess at this time of year is unusual. It’s really high,” said Lasse Vestergaard, Chief Physician at Denmark’s Statens Serum Institut, which hosts EuroMOMO.
“It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat,” he added.
Extreme temperatures can trigger heatstroke and worsen underlying cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses, placing older people at the greatest risk.
Scientists have already concluded that the late-June heatwave would have been “virtually impossible” without human-induced climate change, which is making heatwaves more frequent, longer-lasting and more intense.
The mortality figures cover the week of June 22 to 28, when temperatures peaked across France, Spain, Britain and several other European countries.
The data measures excess deaths from all causes rather than heat-related fatalities alone. However, researchers said there were no major events, including COVID-19 outbreaks, that could explain such a sharp increase in deaths during the period.
In contrast, the same group of 27 European countries recorded an average of about 500 fewer deaths than expected in each of the previous eight weeks.
EuroMOMO noted that the figures could still be revised as additional national data becomes available.
The scorching heatwave disrupted daily life across Europe, causing power outages, forcing schools to close and breaking temperature records in several countries.
While EuroMOMO does not publish country-specific mortality figures, it said France and Belgium were the only countries to register “very high excess mortality” during the final week of June.
Belgium’s public health institute, Sciensano, said the country experienced its highest heatwave-related excess mortality since records began in 2000.
Separately, a study released on Monday estimated that around 2,700 people died from heat-related causes in England and Wales during the heatwaves in May and June.
Researchers from Imperial College London, the UK Met Office and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that roughly 42 percent of those deaths were linked to the additional heat caused by climate change.
REUTERS.
