Europe recorded 10,000 excess deaths in late-June heatwave

Lead

European countries reported more than 10,000 excess deaths during the record-breaking heatwave that engulfed the west of the continent in late June, according to official data. The vast majority – more than 9,000 – were among people aged 65 and above, as reported by all five sources covering the story.

The data, pooled from national mortality statistics in 27 European countries, included excess deaths from all causes during the week of June 22 to 28, when the heatwave peaked in France, Spain, Britain and other countries. Scientists said there were no other known major factors, such as COVID-19 outbreaks, that would have contributed to the spike to 10,650 excess deaths in that week, as reported by the Jerusalem Post and The Hindu.

Coverage Comparison

The story has been covered with consistent facts across all outlets: Al Jazeera, the Jerusalem Post, the South China Morning Post, and The Hindu. All reported the 10,000 excess deaths figure and the over-9,000 deaths among those aged 65 and above. The sources also uniformly noted that scientists have said the late-June heatwave would have been "virtually impossible" without human-caused climate change.

Differences emerge in the focus of the reporting. Al Jazeera and The Hindu emphasized the England and Wales mortality study, while the Jerusalem Post and the South China Morning Post centered their coverage on the European-wide excess deaths. The South China Morning Post's framing was described as alarmist, while the other outlets were more informative in tone.

Key Claims

According to all five sources, European countries reported more than 10,000 excess deaths during the late-June heatwave, with more than 9,000 among people aged 65 and above. This data comes from EuroMOMO, a network backed by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization.

The Jerusalem Post and The Hindu report that the data included excess deaths from all causes during the week of June 22 to 28, and that scientists said there were no other major factors, such as COVID-19, contributing to the spike. The same European countries' combined mortality over the previous eight weeks was, on average, around 500 deaths per week below typical levels. The EuroMOMO data could be revised in future weeks as more data comes in.

A separate scientific study estimated at least 2,700 people died from heat-related causes in England and Wales during the May and June heatwaves, according to Al Jazeera, The Hindu, and the Jerusalem Post. The study, conducted by experts from Imperial College London, the Met Office, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, used weather data, climate models, and studies on excess deaths. It found that 42% of these deaths were caused by the extra heat from human-induced warming.

Monthly temperature records were set in England at 35.1°C in May and 37.7°C in June, as reported by The Hindu and Al Jazeera. Mark McCarthy, science manager of the Met’s climate attribution team, is quoted in those reports as saying the heatwaves were "extreme" and "particularly exceptional for the timing and how early in the year they occurred."

The study estimated around 550 deaths occurred between May 21 and 29, and nearly 2,200 between June 18 and 28. The U.K. Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is expected to publish its official estimate in the coming weeks, and the agency's Lea Berrang Ford is quoted by The Hindu as saying the study's models "help illustrate the scale of risk associated with extreme heat and the growing threat climate change poses to our wellbeing."

Lasse Vestergaard, Chief Physician at Denmark's Statens Serum Institut, which hosts EuroMOMO, told Reuters (as relayed by multiple outlets) that the level of excess deaths at this time of year was "unusual" and "really high," adding that "It is difficult to explain this high excess mortality by anything but the extreme heat."

Perspectives

Scientists and health officials: Researchers and health agencies, including those at Imperial College London, the Met Office, and the UKHSA, emphasize that human-induced climate change is making heatwaves more frequent and intense. They attribute a significant share of the deaths to the extra heat caused by global warming, and note that extreme heat can kill by causing heatstroke or aggravating cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, with older people among the most vulnerable.

EuroMOMO and hosting institution: Lasse Vestergaard of the Statens Serum Institut, which hosts the EuroMOMO network, highlights the unusual magnitude of the excess mortality and its clear link to extreme heat, underscoring that no other factors like COVID-19 appear to explain the spike.