European heat wave kills over 1,000, study links record temperatures to climate change

A rapid analysis by the World Weather Attribution network found that the June‑2026 heat wave across Europe would have been virtually impossible 50 years ago and is about 200 times more likely today than it was two decades ago. The study attributes the unprecedented heat and humidity directly to human‑driven climate change, noting that natural factors such as El Niño played no role.

France’s public health agency reported at least 1,000 excess deaths over three days of the extreme heat, with daily fatalities rising from the usual 900‑1,000 to more than 1,400 during the peak. Around 85 % of the deaths were among people aged 65 and older, and the increase was sharpest in regions under red heat‑warning alerts. Across the continent, 150 million people were exposed to dangerous temperatures, schools were closed, power grids strained, and severe thunderstorms triggered lightning injuries and forest fires in Germany and Sweden.

Scientists such as Friederike Otto and Clair Barnes warned that without accelerated mitigation, similar or worse heat records are expected to become increasingly frequent.