Germany records a historic high of 16,300 heat-related deaths during Europe’s severe summer heatwaves, with the elderly most affected.
BERLIN: Germany registered a record 16,300 heat-related deaths during Europe’s severe summer heatwaves, official data showed Thursday.
Countries across Europe have recorded more than 30,000 excess deaths during the back-to-back heatwaves and drought scientists have blamed on man-made climate change.
The German figure had increased from 15,800 deaths reported last week by the government’s Robert Koch Institute. The latest figures ran from June 1 through to August 23, one week more than the last statistics.
In Germany, the largest share of heat-related deaths occurred in the over-75 age group, the public health authority said in a statement.
The institute has estimated that 9,600 of the deaths were in the week of June 22-28.
The institute said it has collected such heat mortality data for the past decade and that the previous record was 8,900 heat-related deaths in 2018. A separate report by a medical publication had estimated 10,000 heat deaths in 1994.
