By Staff, Agencies

A report published by the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London linked more than 50,000 excess deaths in European cities to extreme heat during the summer of 2026.

The researchers estimated 50,391 heat-related excess deaths between June and August across 854 cities, whose combined population is approximately 173 million.

Excess mortality measures the difference between the number of deaths recorded and the number expected under normal conditions. The study found that people aged over 85 experienced the highest heat-related mortality rates, while Northern Europe recorded the lowest regional rates and Southern Europe the highest.

Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, and Greece were among the countries most severely affected by the summer heat.

The report estimates that temperatures across Europe were, on average, approximately 2.5 degrees Celsius [4.5 degrees Fahrenheit] higher than they would have been without human-induced global warming.

According to the researchers, climate change likely contributed to 65% of the estimated deaths, equivalent to approximately 32,600 fatalities.

The impact was particularly concentrated during a period of sustained extreme temperatures. Around one-third of all estimated excess deaths occurred between June 17 and July 1, when Europe's average daily temperature was 5.3 degrees Celsius above the norm.

The estimated toll was also substantially higher than the approximately 24,500 heat-related excess deaths recorded in 2025, per the report.

The findings highlight the growing public health risks associated with extreme heat, particularly for older people and populations in regions experiencing prolonged high temperatures.