This Isn't A Climate Change Warning, It's Reality: Europe’s Heatwave Has Killed 2,300

Last Updated:July 09, 2025, 23:14 IST

A heatwave in Western Europe in June-July caused around 2,300 deaths across 12 cities as temperatures soared over 40°C.

People refresh themselves at a public fountain during a heatwave in Paris. (AFP)

A brutal heatwave that scorched Western Europe in late June and early July has been linked to the deaths of approximately 2,300 people across 12 cities, with two-thirds of those fatalities- around 1,500- attributed to human-induced climate change, according to a rapid scientific analysis.

The 10-day stretch of extreme temperatures, which ended July 2, brought sweltering highs over 40°C (104°F) in parts of Spain and sparked wildfires in France. Researchers from Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said the soaring temperatures were made significantly more dangerous by global warming.

“Climate change has made it significantly hotter than it would have been, which in turn makes it a lot more dangerous," Dr. Ben Clarke, one of the study’s lead authors, said.

Using peer-reviewed, real-time mortality models and historical death records, the researchers estimated the toll in cities such as Madrid, Barcelona, London and Milan. In some areas, climate change was found to have increased heatwave temperatures by as much as 4°C.

The analysis, published just a week after the heatwave broke, was intentionally fast-tracked, as most heat-related deaths go underreported or unrecorded in official statistics.

The findings arrive as the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service reports that June 2025 was the third-hottest June on record globally and the hottest ever recorded in Western Europe. Much of the continent experienced what Copernicus defines as “very strong heat stress"- conditions that feel like 38°C or higher due to humidity and other factors.

“In a warming world, heatwaves are likely to become more frequent, more intense and impact more people across Europe," Samantha Burgess, Copernicus’ strategic lead for climate, warned.

The scale of this summer’s tragedy echoes findings from 2023, when a study estimated 61,000 heat-related deaths during Europe’s historic 2022 heatwaves. The scientists emphasize that as long as greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels continue to rise, the climate system will keep breaking records and pushing human health systems beyond their limits.

Location :

France

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News world This Isn't A Climate Change Warning, It's Reality: Europe’s Heatwave Has Killed 2,300