The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that over 1,300 people have died as a result of the extreme heatwave that has been affecting Europe since 21 June 2026. This extreme weather has been recorded as one of the worst heatwaves in the region’s history.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus confirmed the additional death toll via a post on the X platform. He noted that currently around one million people in Europe are exposed to extreme temperatures, which are triggering a range of fatal consequences for public health, society and infrastructure.
“This situation has led to hundreds of deaths, school closures and a severely strained electricity grid,” said Tedros.
The WHO notes that exposure to extreme heat carries a high risk of causing deaths from heatstroke, heart attacks, other medical complications, and even drowning incidents as people attempt to cool themselves down.
Record High Temperatures in Various Countries
A number of European countries have simultaneously recorded their highest temperatures on record. Denmark recorded a temperature of 37 degrees Celsius for the first time since 1874. The Czech Republic also broke the 40-degree Celsius mark for the first time, reaching 40.6 degrees Celsius.
Meanwhile, Germany recorded a maximum air temperature of 41.5 degrees Celsius, with night-time temperatures remaining scorching at 39,5 degrees Celsius.
The UK also reported its highest-ever temperature for the month of June, reaching 36.7 degrees Celsius in Somerset.
As the heatwave moves towards north-eastern Europe, a number of governments in the affected countries, including France, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Hungary, have officially declared the highest alert level.
It’s The Climate Crisis
According to the latest analysis by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) consortium of scientists, this deadly phenomenon is confirmed to stem from the global climate crisis, triggered by the accumulation of carbon pollution resulting from the burning of fossil fuels.
The researchers emphasise that this event is purely the result of global warming and refute the notion that this extreme heat is caused by natural weather variations or the influence of the developing El Niño phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean.
Scientists explain that weather patterns involving high-pressure systems trapping hot air—known as a ‘heat dome’—along with warm winds drawn from the Sahara Desert, are actually normal occurrences during the European summer. However, the intensity of the heat has become many times more extreme due to global warming, which has caused temperatures to rise by 1.1 degrees Celsius over the past 50 years.
“This phenomenon would be impossible in June without climate change,” stated Theodore Keeping, a researcher specialising in extreme weather at Imperial College London who is part of the WWA team.
Furthermore, high humidity in almost half of Europe’s 850 major cities has triggered the highest levels of heat stress on record. High humidity hinders the body’s ability to cool itself through sweating, making the current heatwave far more dangerous and paralysing various vital sectors, from the healthcare system to public transport.
