Germany’s summer heat death toll reaches record levels: Here’s everything to know

On Thursday, Germany registered a record 15,800 heat-related deaths this summer, marking the highest figure in decades as Europe struggled through a series of sweltering heatwaves.

The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) declared that another 4,000 heat-related deaths were recorded between late July and mid-August.

Heat and drought-stricken have battered much of Europe this year, triggering a spike in heat-related mortality, wildfires and devastating many crops and receding river levels in major rivers.

The institute further clarified that it has heat-related mortality statistics for the past decade and that the previous record was 8,900 deaths in 2018. On the contrary, a separate report by a medical publication had estimated 10,000 heat deaths in 1994.

Extreme heat can kill through heatstroke but mostly proves deadly when combined with additional medical conditions such as cardiovascular, lung and kidney diseases. According to the conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz, climate change and heat adaptation were on the leadership alignment schedule, but no new measures have yet been announced.

The Environmental Action Germany group charged the government as “irresponsible” for failing to take one practical action after an extreme summer saw thousands of heat-related deaths.

Group’s director Barbara Metz said: “Future summers will be even hotter, yet instead of finally ensuring our cities remain livable and people stay healthy, the government is merely tinkering with the symptoms.”