Overview

• The study covers a ten-day span from June 23 to July 2 across 12 European cities, finding temperatures were up to 4°C higher due to human-driven emissions.
• Researchers estimate 1,500 of the 2,300 heat-related deaths were directly attributable to intensified warming, effectively tripling the expected mortality.
• Older adults bore the greatest burden, accounting for 88% of climate change–related fatalities, while another 183 deaths occurred among those aged 20 to 64.
• This analysis is the first rapid attribution study to quantify excess deaths from a single heatwave using historical weather records and mortality risk models.
• Scientists and public health experts warn existing measures fall short and call for expanded urban cooling plans, formal support systems and long-term heat adaptation strategies.