Europe has recorded more than 30,000 excess deaths over a summer marked by relentless heatwaves and severe drought, according to provisional figures. Climate scientists attribute these extreme conditions to human-induced global warming. According to provisional estimates from the EuroMomo monitoring platform, the continent registered over 32,000 excess deaths between mid-July and mid-August alone, with the summer season still ongoing.
A compiled count of national statistics across eight European nations—Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain—tallied 33,000 excess deaths or fatalities directly connected to the heat. While EuroMomo does not break down deaths by individual countries, national health agencies have issued provisional reports covering the period from late May through August. Scientists emphasize that these recurring heatwaves, driven primarily by the combustion of coal, oil, and gas, are a direct indicator of global warming, warning of longer and more intense heat events in the future.
Germany, the European Union's most populous nation with 82 million residents, recorded 14,000 heat-related deaths up to August 9. The Robert Koch Institute reported that this figure marks a record since tracking began in 2016, with individuals over the age of 75 being the most severely affected. Meanwhile, France's public health authorities logged 7,300 excess deaths between late May and July 22. This French toll is expected to rise further as a prolonged heatwave that started in late July has only recently concluded.
In Spain, the Carlos III Health Institute reported nearly 4,500 heat-blamed deaths between June 1 and August 19, the highest count for this period since 2022. The national weather agency AEMET noted that July was mainland Spain's joint-hottest month since records began in 1961, tying with July 2022. AEMET warned that the final toll for 2026 could be significantly higher due to other hot spells. Belgium also experienced a severe impact relative to its population size, with the Sciensano national public health institute estimating 2,570 excess deaths between June 18 and July 17. A spokesperson stated that Belgium's figures will be updated in September to include the late July and August period, which coincided with the start of the country's worst modern wildfire.
An analysis of data from the Netherlands' RIVM institute indicated 968 excess deaths occurred between June 22 and July 5. In Portugal, figures from the DGS health authority showed more than 600 excess deaths from mid-June to the end of July. Both peak weeks of the summer coincided with exceptional heat waves that dried out landscapes, setting the stage for devastating wildfires, while the first week of July was the second-deadliest period of the summer, accounting for approximately 8,000 deaths. EuroMomo's estimates, which cover 23 European nations but exclude parts of Eastern Europe, are expected to be revised upward in the coming weeks as more official statistics are refined.
Both weeks coincided with one of the recurring exceptional heatwaves in which Europeans baked this summer, while widespread droughts provided ideal tinder-dry conditions for raging wildfires.
Like in other European countries, people over the age of 75 suffered the most, the institute said.
