WHO Warns Heat Stress Kills More Than 1,300 In Europe As France Records 1,000 Excess Deaths

France’s public health agency said Sunday that France saw around 1,000 additional deaths last week at the height of its record-smashing heat wave, as the head of the World Health Organization warned that Europe is now the fastest-warming continent and needs to do more to protect its citizens.

In a post on X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded since 21 June “linked to high temperatures in Europe,” and he warned that “Heat stress is often called the 'silent killer'.”

1News

NBC News reported Germany marked a new record for the third day in a row with 41.7 degrees Celsius in Neißemünde near the border with Poland, while the Czech Republic also experienced its hottest day ever with 41.1 C.

The same NBC News report said a Europe-based collaboration of scientists at World Weather Attribution found the record-breaking heat and humidity in Europe this past week would not have been possible without climate change.

France 24 added that WHO said Sunday that more than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded in Europe since June 21 in connection with the heatwave roasting much of the continent.

France’s public health agency said its preliminary count of excess deaths found most fatalities involved older people, and it expected the mortality rate would rise as more information was released about deaths in homes and residential care.

Al Jazeera reported that since June 20 Europeans have been experiencing an intense heatwave that has caused museums and schools to shut early, and it cited AFP estimates that at least 191 million people are forecast to experience temperatures of at least 35 degrees Celsius in Europe on Sunday.

ABC News

In Germany, dpa reported at least seven people died in swimming accidents over the weekend as the heatwave sent many to lakes and rivers to cool off, and Al Jazeera said at least two people died in separate swimming accidents in Berlin on Saturday.

The BBC said Germany experienced its hottest-ever day for the third consecutive day after 41.7C was recorded in the east of the country, while CHMI expected the heat to peak on Sunday with storms forecast for western areas later.

France 24 said the WHO chief warned that “Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average,” and it tied the excess-death figures to the heatwave moving eastwards.

As the heatwave pushed emergency services toward saturation, Euronews reported that in Paris authorities banned drinking alcohol in public over the weekend to relieve pressure on emergency services, and it said the city’s Pride March was postponed.

Euronews also quoted Paris mayor Emmanuel Grégoire warning on X that “swimming outside the times when supervised swimming is permitted, and outside the supervised areas, is dangerous,” after a man drowned in the Canal Saint-Martin on Friday night.

In the UK, The Guardian reported that the Met Office said the record for the hottest June day had been broken for the third day running, with provisional figures showing 37.3C in Santon Downham, Suffolk, on Friday.

The Guardian said London ambulance service responded to its highest number of life-threatening emergencies ever on Wednesday, and it quoted Craig Harman expecting “demand to grow day on day over the next couple of days”.

NBC News reported that Berlin police used water cannons to cool down locals and tourists by spraying cool water across the cheering crowd in front of the Brandenburg Gate.