RIYADH: The death toll linked to the heatwave that swept across Europe last month continues to increase, underscoring the growing human cost of extreme weather events fueled by climate change.
French health authorities reported that deaths increased by 29 percent during the end of June, with 2,025 additional fatalities since last week. Public Health France cautioned that the numbers remain incomplete and that the final toll is expected to grow as more data becomes available.
Majority of deaths were among adults aged 45 and older, although officials also recorded that the most impacted population were people above 65 years old.
Neighboring countries also recorded significant excess mortality rates. Belgium reported around 1,200 additional deaths between mid and end of June, while the Netherlands registered about 480 excess deaths, most of them among older people.
The extreme heat shattered temperature records across much of Europe, with France experiencing its hottest June days on record. New national or monthly temperature records were also set in other countries such as Germany, Italy and Switzerland.
Climate scientists say such exceptional temperatures would have been highly unlikely without human-induced climate change.
Additionally, the heatwave triggered widespread environmental damage, such as severe drought left rivers and lakes in northern Italy at critically low levels, prompting authorities in some of its regions to declare a state of emergency last week.
Health experts warn that heatwaves caused by climate change are becoming life threating due to long exposure to high heat temperatures can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
The latest numbers are a reminder that extreme heat is not only an environmental concern but a serious public health challenge.
