Mon 29 June 2026:

More than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded across Europe since June 21 as extreme heat grips the continent, World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Sunday.

“More than 1300 excess deaths have been recorded since 21 June linked to high temperatures in Europe,”Ghebreyesus said on US social media company X.

He noted that Europe is “the fastest-warming continent on Earth,” warming at twice the global average, with around 150 million people currently living under extreme heat.

“Hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling,” he further said, warning that climate change is making once-rare heat waves increasingly frequent.

“Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the ‘once-in-a-generation’ heat wave is now occurring nearly annually. We were warned,” he said.

Tedros described heat stress as a “silent killer,” noting that European homes, workplaces and schools were not designed to withstand such high temperatures.

He said the WHO is working with member states and partners to strengthen preparedness, prevention and health system responses to extreme heat.

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France records around 1,000 excess deaths in 5 days

France has recorded around 1,000 more deaths than expected since June 24 as an exceptional heat wave gripped much of the country, according to preliminary figures released Sunday by the national public health agency.

Public Health France said the data, which remain provisional, show a significant increase in mortality during the heat wave, with people over the age of 65 accounting for the majority of the excess deaths.

The agency also reported a 40% increase in deaths at home.

French Health Minister Stephanie Rist warned earlier Sunday that the heat wave’s health effects are not over despite cooler temperatures in many regions, saying the country is seeing “a higher than normal number of deaths,” the French broadcaster BFMTV reported.

Meanwhile, the Paris emergency medical service (SAMU) reported 80 deaths on Saturday, including 30 cardiac arrests, compared with 109 deaths on Friday.

Italy braces for peak of heat wave as temperatures near 40C

Italy faced the peak of an intense heat wave on Sunday, with temperatures approaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in several regions, prompting emergency measures, service disruptions, and growing health concerns across the country.

An 82-year-old tourist from Rome died after falling ill on a beach in Marina di Grosseto shortly after coming out of the water, with high temperatures believed to have been a contributing factor, Ansa News reported.

The African anticyclone, known as Caronte, was expected to bring the hottest conditions of the current heat wave, with temperatures forecast to reach 39-40C (102.2-104F) in Tuscany and parts of the Po Valley, according to weather service iLMeteo.it.

Heat wave sparks wildfires across Germany

Forest fires caused by the ongoing drought have kept fire departments busy putting out the fires in several parts of Germany, a news report said Sunday.

In the southwestern state of Rhineland-Palatinate, a fire broke out in an area where unexploded ordnance was buried, followed by multiple explosions. Part of the town of Traisen has to be evacuated, according to the German Press Agency (dpa).

A major operation was also underway in the eastern town of Gohrischheide, where fire departments are trying to bring a renewed forest fire under control. Flames were also raging in other areas.

Several wildfires were also reported in the forests of the eastern states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Saxony-Anhalt.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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