A severe heat wave that gripped Germany from mid-June has cost roughly 5,100 lives, according to estimates by the Robert Koch Institute, already exceeding the annual heat-related death tolls recorded in each of the three previous years. The vast majority of excess deaths — approximately 4,310 — occurred in a single week between 22 and 28 June, when the national average weekly temperature reached 26.4 degrees Celsius.
Older residents bore the heaviest burden, with about 4,270 of the dead aged 75 or older. The German Weather Service said June 2026 was the country's second-warmest on record, and 46 stations recorded temperatures above 40 degrees on 27 June.
The crisis extended beyond Germany, with thousands of additional deaths also reported across France, Spain, the Netherlands and Belgium. June 2026 was the European Union's hottest on record, running more than 3 degrees above the 1991–2020 average.