WHO warns Europe is unprepared as heatwave kills over 1,300
More than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded in Europe since June 21, with France and Germany both setting grim heat records. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called heat stress a silent killer.
Europe has recorded more than 1,300 excess deaths since June 21 as the heatwave pushed France and Germany into fresh temperature records and strained transport, schools and power systems. World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned that the continent is not prepared for this level of heat, saying homes, workplaces and schools were never built for it.
Tedros called heat stress a “silent killer” and said about 150 million people were living under extreme heat across Europe. The warning landed as rail services were cut in parts of the continent, schools closed and electricity grids buckled under demand, exposing how quickly extreme heat can overwhelm even wealthy countries with advanced infrastructure.
France offered the clearest human toll. Public Health France said around 1,000 more deaths than expected were recorded during the heatwave, and 85% of those deaths involved people aged 65 and older. French officials also said Tuesday, June 23, was the hottest day ever recorded nationwide, beating the previous benchmark set in 2003. The scale of the deaths shows that the danger is not just the thermometer but who is most exposed, especially older adults in homes and care settings that cannot cool fast enough.
Germany posted its own sequence of records. The German Weather Service said temperatures reached a provisional national high of 41.7C in Coschen, Brandenburg, near the Polish border, on Sunday, June 28. That reading followed new national marks of 41.3C in Saarbrücken on Friday and 41.5C in Drewitz on Saturday. The succession of records underscored how persistent and widespread the heat became across central Europe.
Scientists said this kind of European heatwave would have been virtually impossible without human-caused climate change. Copernicus Climate Change Service has said Europe is the fastest-warming continent, heating at about twice the global average and rising by 0.56C per decade over the last 30 years. For U.S. cities with aging housing, crowded transit, outdoor workers and summer power demand, Europe’s toll is a warning shot about what preparedness gaps can cost when heat arrives faster than systems can adapt.
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