On July 13, European countries reported more than 10,000 deaths exceeding the limit in the record heatwave covering the western continent at the end of June. Most of those, more than 9,000 cases, were in the 65-year-old age group, according to data released by EuroMOMO, a network supported by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization.
Data is compiled from national mortality statistics in 27 European countries, including overweight deaths from all causes, not only those related to heat, in the week from June 22 to 28, when the heat wave peaked in France, Spain, England and many other countries. However, scientists say no other major factors are known to contribute to the spike to 10,650 overweight deaths in that week.
The extreme heat wave at the end of June disrupted power supplies, forced schools to close, and broke temperature records in France, Spain and the UK.
EuroMOMO did not announce the number of overweight deaths by country, but noted that France and Belgium are the only two countries in Europe to record "very high overweight" deaths in the last week of June. Belgium's overweight death rate is the highest in any heat wave according to statistics from 2000, according to the Sciensano Public Health Institute of this country.
A separate scientific study, released on Monday, estimated that 2,700 people died from heat-related causes in the UK and Wales alone, during the May and June heat waves.
Among those deaths, 42% were due to the excess heat that global warming contributed to the heat waves, according to findings from the Royal University of London, the UK Meteorological Agency and the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene.
