Germany registered a record 15,800 heat-related deaths this summer as Europe endured a series of severe heatwaves, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Thursday.
People aged over 75 were the worst affected, with around 9,600 heat-related deaths recorded during one week in late June when temperatures exceeded 40°C, the national public health institute said.
Another 4,000 heat-related deaths were recorded between late July and mid-August, according to the RKI.
The institute said the previous record was 8,900 heat-related deaths in 2018. A separate medical publication had estimated 10,000 heat-related deaths in 1994.
Heat and drought have affected much of Europe this summer, contributing to higher heat-related mortality while fuelling wildfires, damaging crops and reducing water levels in major rivers.
Extreme heat can cause death directly through conditions such as heatstroke but is more often fatal when combined with existing cardiovascular, lung or kidney diseases.
The RKI has collected heat-mortality data for the past decade, using statistical methods that compare deaths during summer weeks with and without heatwaves.
