Europe's summer of 2026 was its deadliest on record for heat, researchers estimate

Estimated heat deaths

50,391 deaths, summer 2026

Researchers estimate heat caused 50,391 deaths in Europe's cities this summer, and that climate change was responsible for about two-thirds of them.

Estimated heat deaths by summer

1. 1 2026: 50,391
2. 2 2022: 29,480
3. 3 2003: 28,462

The toll far exceeds the next two worst summers on record.

The model covers 854 urban centres. Italy had the highest toll at over 13,000, and about 6,000 of the dead were under 65.

“These numbers are a stark reminder that our hotter, more extreme summers are having an increasingly severe impact on public health.”

— Dr. Clair Barnes, Imperial College London