Get you up to speed: Excess deaths in Europe heatwave hit 1,300 after temperatures push past 40°C | News World
A severe heatwave affecting mainland Europe has resulted in 1,300 excess deaths, with countries including France, Germany, and Italy particularly impacted. An 82-year-old tourist died on a beach in Marina di Grosseto, Italy, as temperatures reached near 40°C.
The World Health Organisation reported 1,300 excess deaths across mainland Europe due to the ongoing heatwave, which began last Sunday. In response, WHO is collaborating with Member States to enhance health systems and prepare for future extreme heat events.
The World Health Organisation reported 1,300 excess deaths due to the ongoing heatwave in Europe and warned that homes and schools are ill-equipped for such extreme temperatures, calling for enhanced preparedness and health system responses. Meanwhile, meteorological services anticipate further storms in France, with warnings issued as temperatures rise across the continent.
What remains unclear — The exact number of casualties linked to the extreme heat across Europe has not been specified beyond initial reports of hundreds.
Excess deaths in Europe heatwave rise to 1,300 as temperatures exceed 40°C
A queue for water beside Rome’s Colosseum (Picture: Isabella Bonotto/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The number of excess deaths in the heatwave sweeping across mainland Europe has reached 1,300 according to the World Health Organisation.
WHO boss Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the figure was calculated from last Sunday, when abnormally high temperatures began to be recorded in countries including France, Germany and Italy.
In a post on X, he wrote: ‘Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling.
‘Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the “once-in-a-generation” heatwave is now occurring nearly annual.’
In France, around 36,000 homes are without power following heatwave-related storms – which led to the Eiffel Tower being struck by lightning and golf ball-sized hail stripping tiles from roofs.
Further storms are expected to hit the country tonight.
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Paris on June 27, 2026. (Photo by DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP via Getty Images)” decoding=”async” loading=”lazy”/>
The Eiffel Tower is struck by lightning during a severe thunderstorm over Paris (Picture: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Italy is hitting the peak of its heatwave today with temperatures expected to approach 40°C.
News agency Ansa reported an 82-year-old tourist had died on a beach in Marina di Grosseto, on the Tuscany coast.
Germany, Denmark and Czechia have preliminarily beaten their all-time temperature records, while France and Switzerland have beaten their record heat for June.
People cooling off in Prague, Czechia, with the country hitting a new record high temperature of 41.1°C today (Picture: EPA)
People in Naples, Italy, took to the Mediterranean to cool down (Picture: Iso Ekle/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The extreme heat is coming to an end for the UK, with temperatures in areas like London expected to fall below 20°C tonight for the first time in several days.
However, the respite comes after the British record for June heat was broken three days in a row, hitting 37.3°C in Santon Downham on Friday.
Dr Ghebreyesus warned in his post on X that ‘European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures’.
He said: ‘WHO is working with its Member States and partners to address the health threats posed by extreme heat through focusing on preparedness, prevention and stronger health system responses.’
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