GENEVA, Jun 28: The World Health Organization said Sunday that over 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded in Europe since June 21 in connection with the record-breaking heatwave roasting much of the continent.
Tens of millions have been braving a weekend of extreme temperatures in Europe as a deadly heatwave moves eastwards, with some countries announcing rising death tolls and health services warning of saturation.
On Sunday morning, French health officials said there had been around 1,000 more deaths than expected in that country just since Wednesday.
And across Europe, "more than 1,300 excess deaths have been recorded since 21 June linked to high temperatures in Europe", WHO chief TedrosAdhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
"Heat stress is often called the 'silent killer' �" and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures," he said.
At least 191 million people are forecast to endure temperatures of at least 35C on Sunday in Europe, with the heat particularly intense in Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland, according to AFP estimates.
A total of 381 million people in Europe, excluding Turkey, will see temperatures surpass 30C, according to analysis based on forecasts from the German Meteorological Service and 2025 population projections from the Joint Research Centre collated by Austrian NGO Klimadashboard.
Millions of people across the continent are currently "living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling", Tedros warned.
"Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the 'once-in-a-generation' heatwave is now occurring nearly annual," he said, pointing out that "Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average".
' Reuters adds, temperatures were forecast to reach 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of Europe on Sunday as storms moved into other areas, with France reporting 1,000 excess deaths during the record-breaking heatwave.
The French public health agency said most of the heat-related fatalities involved older people, warning that the number was expected to rise as more information became available about deaths in residential care and private homes.
Scientists have said the heatwave, which began on June 20, was the worst recorded in Europe, and the blistering conditions have disrupted power generation, damaged infrastructure and overwhelmed healthcare systems.
"Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling," World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on the X platform.�"AGENCIES
