Over 50,000 people died of heat-related causes across Europe in 'deadliest Summer on record'

Over 50,000 people died of heat-related causes across Europe in 'deadliest Summer on record' Climate transition minister Katie White said Labour was 'strengthening Britain's resilience' to extreme weather Sign up to the News Newsletter Email address Sign up I agree to receive updates and information about my account, the GB News Community, and related products and services from GB News. By signing up you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy and Community Rules. Thank you for signing up! See the latest from GB News here . Choose GB News on Google - add us as a preferred source Choose GB News Support GB News Champion free speech and independent journalism while unlocking exclusive benefits. Support us A new study has estimated that 50,000 people died from heat-related deaths in towns and cities across Europe in the "deadliest Summer on record". According to new modelling, two-thirds of the excess deaths estimated to have occurred as a result of the hot weather, more than 32,000, can be attributed to climate change causing more intense heat. In the UK alone, there were an estimated 4,500 excess deaths in towns and cities, with 2,500 more deaths than there would have been without the more severe heat driven by climate change. Last Summer saw a succession of extreme heatwaves, particularly in western Europe, where temperatures across the season were about 2.9C above the 1991-2020 average, with some days soaring as much as 12C above normal. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say Researchers from Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated heat deaths in 854 urban areas that account for around 40 per cent of the population in the EU, UK, Norway and Switzerland, using modelling that has previously produced results consistent with official figures. The analysis, using temperature records and models of the historical relationship between heat and mortality, estimated the number of heat deaths in those areas at just over 50,000. It far exceeded previous heatwave years of 2003, when an estimated 28,000 people died, and 2022, with 29,000 heat deaths. The modelling suggests the impact of climate change, mostly caused by burning fossil fuels for power, heating, transport, and industry, is growing. Stourbridge and the West Midlands was hit with devastating wildfires | PA Wildfires tore through Europe, causing chaos in France, Spain and Greece | REUTERS An analysis comparing temperatures recorded in each urban area with those expected in a world without greenhouse gas warming found that climate change caused 65 per cent of this summer's heat deaths. That compares to earlier in the century, when climate change is estimated to be responsible for around 40 per cent of the deaths. The study also shows that the heatwave in late June, when Britain was hit with an extremely rare "red warning" of life-threatening heat, was especially severe. A third of all estimated European heat deaths for the summer occurred between June 17 and July 1, when temperatures across the region were more than 5C above average. LATEST DEVELOPMENTS Labour likely to REJECT drilling at Rosebank oilfield after approval of Jackdaw despite Donald Trump urging to go 'full blast' Met Office announces SECOND named storm of the year just hours after Storm Austen Richard Tice doubles down on climate change remarks after urging Britons to 'celebrate' heatwaves: 'The eco zealots have gone tonto!' More than 330,000 people were evacuated from wildfires from France and Spain | REUTERS Italy was the worst hit, with more than 13,000 deaths, and the researchers said southern and western Europe experienced the hottest temperatures and highest estimated mortality rates. But thousands of deaths were also seen in urban areas of typically northern European countries such as the UK. While heat-related deaths tend to hit those who are older, an estimated 6,000 people under the age of 65 are thought to have died from the heat across the urban areas analysed, the study said. Dr Clair Barnes, extreme weather and climate change researcher at Imperial College London, said: "I think we can be quite confident in stating that the summer of 2026 is likely to have been the worst on record for heat-related mortality across much of Europe." One blaze has burnt through 150 hectares near the Suffolk coast | PA Dr Barnes continued: "These numbers are a stark reminder that our hotter, more extreme summers are having an increasingly severe impact on public health." She warned: “Behind these statistics are real people whose lives were lost and real families who grieve for them. "It is yet another reminder both of the imperative of rolling out targeted interventions to protect those who are most vulnerable to this increasingly extreme heat, and of the growing need to rapidly transition away from fossil fuels to slow the pace of change and limit future warming." Dr Pierre Masselot, assistant professor at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, argued that cities were poorly adapted to rising heat and that it was critical to adapt them through measures such as cooling with more green spaces and less pollution, and providing health care for affected populations. The UK has experienced multiple heatwaves this summer | GETTY Earlier in the summer, the researchers estimated that more than 2,700 excess deaths were likely to have occurred as a result of the record-breaking May and June heatwaves in England and Wales. Official analysis of recorded deaths by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) later put the figure at around 2,880. Responding to the study, climate transition minister Katie White said: "These shocking figures represent thousands of families who have lost a loved one this summer due to the climate crisis. We’re not waiting for climate change to arrive; it’s already happening. "We need to act, which is why we’re preparing hospitals for extreme heat, accelerating clean homegrown power to tackle the root causes of climate change, and strengthening our resilience to wildfires with the Prime Minister’s wildfire summit today." 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