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Europe’s unprecedented early summer heatwave may be responsible for hundreds of excess deaths, according to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO).<\/b><\/p>\n
Temperature records were broken across the continent again on Sunday \u2013 including in Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic \u2013 as the extreme heat continued to move east.<\/p>\n
In a post on X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said more than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded since 21 June “linked to high temperatures in Europe”.<\/p>\n
“Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’ – and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures,” he said.<\/p>\n
On Sunday morning, France’s national health ministry said there had been around 1,000 more deaths than expected in the country since Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Many of the extra fatalities are among those aged 65 over, the agency said, after logging a 40% rise in the number of people dying at home.<\/p>\n
“Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average,” Tedros warned.<\/p>\n
Millions of people across the continent are currently “living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling”, he added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n