Europe Had Over 62,700 Heat-Related Deaths In 2024: Report

The summer of 2024 was the hottest on record in Europe (Representational)

Copenhagen:

Research published in Nature Medicine on Monday revealed that more than 62,700 individuals died from heat-related causes across Europe in 2024. Women and elderly populations constituted the majority of these fatalities.

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) researchers collected daily mortality data from 32 European countries and estimated that over 181,000 people succumbed to heat-related complications during the summer months from 2022 through 2024.

During the period between June 1 and September 30, 2024, mortality rates increased by 23% compared to the same timeframe in the previous year. However, the death toll remained slightly below the 67,900 deaths documented in 2022, which was the study's first year.

"This number is signaling that we should begin adapting our populations," stated Tomas Janos, the study's lead author.

HOTTEST SUMMER ON RECORD IN EUROPE

According to the European Union's Copernicus Climate Change Service, summer 2024 was recorded as the hottest ever in Europe.

Southern Europe accounted for approximately two-thirds of the estimated deaths. Italy, with Europe's proportionally largest elderly population and experiencing extremely high temperatures across all three summers, registered the highest absolute death toll each summer.

Although summer 2025 was not included in the research, the Italian Society for Emergency Medicine reported that emergency room admissions increased by up to 20% in certain regions during peak temperature periods this year, indicating that Italy continues to struggle with heat-related risks for elderly citizens.

"Patients who were already vulnerable and suffering from multiple conditions required increased hospital care, which heightened pressure on hospital services, similar to what occurs during influenza surge periods," explained Alessandro Riccardi, president of SIMEU, in a statement to Reuters.

European health authorities increasingly issue heat warnings when temperatures are expected to reach official heatwave thresholds, which vary between countries.

However, Janos noted that heat-related mortality becomes noticeable even at temperatures as low as 24 degrees Celsius for certain vulnerable populations in specific locations.

PROTECTION FROM HEAT SHOULD BE 'AN ESSENTIAL MEDICINE'

Gerardo Sanchez, an official at the European Environment Agency who participates in the expert group revising the World Health Organization's heat health guidelines, emphasized that data on heat-related deaths must be matched with long-term investment to enhance Europe's infrastructure and improve access to cooling solutions.

"Protection from heat needs to be approached as an essential medicine for those who need it most," Sanchez told Reuters.

ISGlobal acknowledged they had previously undercounted heat deaths for 2022 and 2023, which were calculated using weekly rather than daily records, and subsequently revised their earlier estimates slightly upward.