Overview

• A World Weather Attribution-led analysis estimates about 2,300 excess deaths across 12 European cities during the June 23–July 2 heatwave, with roughly 1,500 fatalities directly tied to fossil fuel emissions.
• Scientists found that human-driven warming boosted peak temperatures by up to 4 °C in all surveyed locations, tripling the number of expected heat-related deaths.
• People aged 65 and above accounted for 88 percent of the excess fatalities, highlighting acute vulnerability among older residents.
• This is the first peer-reviewed rapid attribution study to quantify excess mortality for a single heatwave event using established epidemiological methods.
• The report’s release has intensified demands for faster fossil fuel phase-out along with scaling up immediate cooling interventions and long-term urban heat island mitigation measures.