Western Europe heat deaths exceeded 34,600 during record summer

More than 34,600 people died because of heat in Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and Belgium during Western Europe’s hottest recorded summer, according to figures reported on Oct. 1. The estimates cover periods from April to September 2026 and include about 16,000 deaths in Germany, the largest national total.²

National estimates show a broad toll

Spain recorded 5,805 excess deaths attributed to heat between May 15 and Sept. 30. The total was more than 1,000 above the previous record set in 2022. Spain experienced 61 heatwave days, including four summer heatwaves, another in September and episodes of extreme heat in May; July 10 was the worst day for heat mortality.²

Preliminary data from the government agency Santé Publique France estimated that three heatwaves in June, July and August caused 7,824 deaths, the country’s highest toll since at least 2015. The Robert Koch Institute in Germany put the number of heat-related fatalities from April 6 through Sept. at roughly 16,000. 13, including approximately 9,600 during a heatwave at the end of June.²

The UK Health Security Agency estimated that heatwaves caused 2,877 deaths in May and June, with a final seasonal report due next year. Belgium’s public health institute, Sciensano, reported 2,112 deaths between June 18 and July 12. These national figures underpin the reported total of more than 34,600 deaths across the five countries.²

Heat reached much of Europe

In its latest monthly report, Copernicus said Western Europe was 2.5C warmer on average than the 1991-2020 baseline. The Earth observation programme is run by the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts. Europe as a whole experienced its third-warmest summer on record, while Western Europe had its hottest. Several countries registered their highest temperatures, and four of Europe’s 10 most severe recorded heatwaves occurred during the season.¹²

Copernicus reported on Oct. 2 that a record 52 percent of Europe had been exposed to very strong heat stress, while about 80 percent experienced strong heat stress. By the close of the season, strong heat stress had been recorded on an unprecedented 41 days. This condition arises when the body can no longer cool itself adequately, with consequences that can begin with headaches or dizziness and escalate to organ failure or death.¹

According to Samantha Burgess, who leads climate work at the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts, the season’s heat stood out for both its intensity and its geographic extent. “Summer 2026 demonstrated how heat stress is becoming both more widespread and more persistent,” she said. Copernicus linked Europe’s heatwaves to climate change.¹

Heat coincided with drought

The summer’s dry conditions reduced European river flows to their lowest level since records began in 1992, Copernicus reported. Drought affected almost half of Europe by the end of August, continuing a longer-term increase in drought conditions over the past 45 years.¹

Records and comparisons

Although Europe’s August 2003 heatwave remains the most severe on record, the 2026 season was marked by repeated events across a large area rather than a single record. Research by University Paris 5 attributed 14,800 excess deaths to the August 2003 heat event, while the 2026 national estimates cover different periods between spring and early autumn.¹²