Germany has recorded an estimated 9,800 heat-related deaths in 2026 through July 19, the highest toll since 2016, according to the Robert Koch Institute. More than 5,000 of those deaths occurred during a late-June heatwave that pushed temperatures near 40 degrees Celsius across much of the country. An additional 1,900 deaths were recorded in the week of July 13–19, when the weekly mean temperature was 20.9 degrees.
The vast majority of victims were elderly: 5,420 were aged 85 or older, while 630 were under 65. By comparison, Germany saw roughly 9,000 heat-related deaths in all of 2018. With temperatures expected to exceed 40 degrees again in the coming days, the toll is likely to rise.
In England, heatwaves in May and June caused an estimated 2,877 excess deaths, the UK Health Security Agency reported, up from 1,504 last year. Across the EU, excess mortality reached 10,000 during the period. The Social Association of Germany has demanded mandatory heat-protection plans for all public-service and critical-infrastructure facilities.