Heatwave may have killed more than 50,000 people in Europe
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Defimedia
Heat is believed to have caused more than 50,000 deaths in European cities during summer 2026, including over 32,600 linked to fossil fuel-driven climate change. Two studies published in Nature Health describe it as probably the deadliest summer ever recorded, according to CNN.
More than 50,000 people are believed to have died from the effects of heat in European cities during the summer of 2026, according to an analysis reported by CNN. Researchers estimate that this season could be the deadliest ever recorded for heat-related mortality across much of Europe.
Around two-thirds of the deaths, or more than 32,600, are believed to be directly attributable to climate change caused by fossil fuel emissions. These estimates are based on two peer-reviewed studies published in the journal Nature Health. Scientists compared summer temperatures recorded in 854 cities across 30 countries with those that would have been expected in the absence of climate change, then modelled the deaths associated with high temperatures.
Western Europe experienced its hottest summer ever recorded, with temperatures around 2.9°C above the 1991–2020 average. On some days, the differences exceeded 12°C in several countries. The period of extreme heat lasted from late May to late August.
Clair Barnes, a researcher into extreme weather events and climate change at Imperial College London and a co-author of the studies, told CNN that the summer of 2026 had probably been the worst for heat-related mortality across much of the continent. She called on governments to accelerate and better coordinate their action, weeks before the UN’s annual climate negotiations in Turkey.
