Climate Change’s Toll in Europe This Summer: Thousands of Extra Deaths

Severe heat this summer killed three times as many people in European cities as would have died had humans not warmed the planet by burning fossil fuels, scientists said Wednesday.

The new analysis was based on historical mortality trends, not actual death records, which are not yet widely available. The researchers looked at 854 European cities and towns, where they estimated that a total of 24,400 people died as a result of this summer’s heat.

The findings reflect a worrying pattern: Rising temperatures are increasing the risks to human health more quickly than communities and societies can adapt.

Nearly all heat-related deaths are preventable, said Malcolm Mistry, an assistant professor of climate and geospatial modeling at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who contributed to the analysis. And governments in Europe, the fastest-warming continent, have taken steps to protect their citizens.

So the fact that so many people still die each summer “shows that we are not able to keep pace with global warming,” Dr. Mistry said.

Summer after stifling summer, extreme heat is transforming Europe. Wildfires are worsening. Cities are rethinking the way they’re built. Companies are struggling to keep workers safe.