Heatwaves linked with 50 000 deaths in Europe’s urban areas this summer, with climate change responsible for two thirds

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Researchers estimate that excess heat was associated with more than 50,000 deaths in European urban areas during the summer of 2026, the highest toll in their 26-year analysis. They attribute about two-thirds of the estimated deaths to human-driven climate change, particularly fossil-fuel burning, with western Europe especially affected.

Over 50 000 deaths associated with excess heat were likely to have occurred in urban areas in Europe this summer—the highest number on record—research estimates.Climate change, primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, was responsible for about two thirds of these deaths, researchers from Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimated.Europe experienced several heatwaves this summer, with severe effects on human health recorded. Western Europe, which saw its hottest ever summer, was hit especially hard.Two papers published in Nature Health examined excess deaths in 854 urban areas that make up about 40% of the population in 30 European countries between 2000 and 2026.12 Using temperature records and modelling, the researchers estimated that 50 391 heat related excess deaths (95% empirical confidence interval (eCI) 46 026 to 53 878) occurred in 2026.This estimated death toll was the highest in the 26 years analysed, far exceeding...