More than 3,700 people died in France, Belgium and the Netherlands during the late-June heatwave that baked Western Europe, according to health authorities in all three countries. The figure, published by Reuters and confirmed by Germany’s Deutsche Welle on July 3, is preliminary and is expected to rise as data on deaths at home and in care facilities is finalized. Public Health France and Belgium’s health ministry both warned that the final toll will be higher than the early count.
The heatwave ran from roughly June 20 to June 28 and set national temperature records in France, Belgium, the Netherlands and several other countries. The World Health Organization, citing national agencies, said more than 1,300 excess deaths had been recorded across Europe since June 21 in connection with the high temperatures, and scientists at World Weather Attribution concluded the heat was the most severe ever recorded over the region studied.
France Took the Heaviest Toll
France accounted for the largest share of the three-country toll. Health Minister Stephanie Rist said on July 3 that 2,025 excess deaths had been recorded across France during the heatwave, an increase of 29.1% above the seasonal baseline. The figure covers a 10-day late-June stretch that Public Health France described as the most extreme heat episode the country has experienced.
Older people bore the brunt. People over 65 made up the largest share of the excess deaths, and there was also a spike in deaths among 45-to-64-year-olds, the agency said. Deaths at home rose by more than 90% between June 22 and June 28 compared with the previous week, while deaths in nursing homes and healthcare facilities also climbed. The medical emergency service SOS-Médecins reported an 85% increase in deaths among people over 75 during the last two weeks of June, with call-outs for heatstroke and dehydration up 480% and 315% respectively.
Public Health France cautioned that the early count is incomplete because information on deaths in private homes and residential care is still being collected. “Mortality will … be higher than these initial figures suggest,” the agency warned in a statement quoted by Deutsche Welle.
| Country | Excess deaths | Period covered | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 2,025 | late June heatwave | 29.1% above baseline, per Health Minister Stephanie Rist |
| Belgium | 1,222 | June 18 to June 29 | About 39% above normal mortality; described as “unprecedented” |
| Netherlands | around 480 | late June heatwave | Concentrated in south and east, where temperatures were highest |
Belgium and the Netherlands Saw Smaller Populations Take Similar Hits
Belgium, with a population about one-fifth the size of France’s, recorded 1,222 additional deaths between June 18 and June 29, an excess mortality rate of about 39% above normal. The country’s health ministry called the level of excess mortality during a single heatwave “unprecedented” and noted that Belgium had recorded seven tropical days above 30°C and a string of abnormally warm nights. The annual re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo, scheduled for June 26, was cancelled as orange and red heat alerts covered most of the country.
Further north, Dutch authorities said the heatwave caused around 480 excess deaths, mainly in the southern and eastern provinces where temperatures peaked. As in France and Belgium, most of the fatalities were among older people. On June 24, the day demand for cooling peaked, Belgium set a wholesale electricity price record of more than €1 per kilowatt-hour at sunset as conventional power stations ran flat out to feed air conditioners.
- 3,700+ excess deaths across France, Belgium and the Netherlands during the late-June heatwave
- 29.1% jump above seasonal baseline in France, per Public Health France
- 39% excess mortality in Belgium between June 18 and June 29
- 480 excess deaths in the Netherlands, concentrated in the south and east
- 2025 French heat-season deaths totaled 5,700, per Nicolas Revel of the Paris hospitals authority
The Heat That Drove the Death Toll
Météo-France said June 23 was France’s hottest day since measurements began in 1947. The temperature reached 44.3°C at Pissos in the southwest, 42.1°C in Bordeaux and 40.9°C in Paris, a new June record for the capital. Nighttime temperatures set their own records, with several stations failing to drop below 25°C, robbing residents of the cooling window that usually limits heat deaths.
The heat was not confined to France. All-time temperature records were broken in Germany, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary, and June records fell in the United Kingdom and Switzerland, according to Deutsche Welle. Spain reached 45°C. The Czech Republic set a national record of 41.1°C at Doksany north of Prague on June 28, the first time the country’s official station network had ever registered a reading at or above 41°C. In Germany, the town of Kubschuetz recorded a nighttime low of 29.4°C, the warmest night in almost 150 years of records.
An analysis by Agence France-Presse found that more than two-thirds of Europe’s 410 million people experienced temperatures above 35°C during the event. The WHO said 191 million people were forecast to endure temperatures of at least 35°C on a single late-June Sunday, with a further 190 million expected to see the mercury cross 30°C.
World Weather Attribution, an international group that runs rapid climate attribution studies, concluded the heat was the most severe ever recorded over the region studied and that it was “virtually impossible” to explain its intensity compared with the 1976 British Isles heatwave without accounting for climate change.
Homes Built for Milder Summers
Heat kills, but mostly indoors, and Europe was not built for this. Few homes, schools or offices on the continent have air conditioning, and many older buildings retain heat for days after a hot spell ends. The share of French households equipped with air conditioning rose from 18% in 2023 to 24% in 2025, according to the state environment agency Ademe, compared with nearly 90% of US households in 2020.
The gap showed up in store aisles. On June 22, supermarket giant Carrefour said it had sold 30,000 air-cooling units by 6:30 p.m., a level its chief executive, Alexandre Bompard, called “a thousand times more than on a normal day.” An AFP-cited survey found up to eight in 10 French people once considered air conditioning environmentally unfriendly; many are revising that view. At Lidl stores around Paris, scuffles broke out as customers scrambled for bargain cooling units priced as low as €179, with police called to at least two shops when stock ran out before queues cleared.
Politicians are now answering for it. French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu faces a no-confidence vote in parliament over his government’s handling of the extreme heat, which forced schools to close and disrupted rail services. France’s minister for sports and youth, Marina Ferrari, said drownings had risen to “more than 90” since June 19 as people sought relief in rivers, lakes and pools.
A Continent Heating Faster Than the Rest
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus used the figures to argue that Europe has run out of room to treat heat as exceptional. “Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the ‘once-in-a-generation’ heatwave is now occurring nearly annual,” he said, adding that “Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average.” The continent recorded 62,862 heat-related deaths in the summer of 2022, according to a 2023 study in Nature Medicine.
France’s own recent record puts the new toll in context. The August 2003 heatwave killed about 15,000 people in France, the country’s deadliest modern climate disaster. France’s 2025 heat season killed 5,700, and the country’s top hospitals official, Nicolas Revel, told The Guardian this week that he does not expect the 2026 figure to match 2003, “because we’ve made a lot of progress in many areas,” but that it will exceed last year’s.
Spain’s June tally alone reached 1,029 excess deaths, according to the health ministry’s MoMo monitoring system, and authorities there are warning of a new heatwave that could push temperatures to 44°C next week. France is preparing for another round of extreme heat as well, with Météo-France putting parts of the south back on alert.
Heat stress is often called the ‘silent killer’, and European homes, workplaces and schools were not built for these temperatures.
That line came from Tedros in a post on X on June 28. He called on European countries to “implement heat health action plans” as part of broader efforts to safeguard health in the face of climate change.
What the Numbers Don’t Yet Capture
The 3,700 figure counts only deaths in three countries over a roughly 10-day window, and only the deaths that health agencies have been able to link to the heat so far. Across Europe, the 2026 European heatwaves Wikipedia entry puts the cumulative total at more than 5,600 excess deaths by July 5, with Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom also reporting figures.
Public Health France has said the mortality count will rise as data on deaths in private homes and care facilities is finalized. Belgium’s health ministry said it would reassess as more registrations arrive. Updated national tallies from Spain and France, and the WHO’s next Europe-wide update, are expected in the coming weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
How are “excess deaths” counted during a heatwave?
Excess deaths are the additional deaths recorded during a defined period above the number expected for that time of year based on recent baselines. France’s Public Health France, Belgium’s health ministry and the Netherlands’ statistics office all use daily mortality monitoring systems that compare the current period against a multi-year average for the same calendar window. The figure captures deaths from all causes during the heat episode, not only deaths medically certified as heatstroke, because heat typically worsens cardiovascular, respiratory and renal conditions in vulnerable people before they die.
Which European countries were hit hardest?
By absolute count, France recorded the most excess deaths at 2,025, followed by Belgium at 1,222 and the Netherlands at around 480. Spain reported 1,029 excess deaths in June through its MoMo system, and Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom have also reported figures. A Wikipedia compilation of national tallies puts the continental total above 5,600 by July 5.
Why is Europe more vulnerable than other regions?
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Europe is the fastest-warming continent, heating at roughly twice the global average. Much of the continent’s housing stock predates air conditioning, and AC ownership remains far lower than in the United States or China: only about 24% of French households had air conditioning in 2025, per the French environment agency Ademe. Older buildings also retain heat for days after a hot spell ends, extending the exposure window.
Could a heatwave this severe happen again next year?
World Weather Attribution concluded that the June 2026 heat was “virtually impossible” without climate change, and the WHO said heatwaves once described as once-in-a-generation are now occurring almost annually. Scientists stop short of saying any specific year will set a new record, but successive hot summers across Europe since 2022, including 62,862 heat-related deaths in 2022, suggest the baseline against which “extreme” is measured has shifted.
What should households do during an extreme heatwave?
Public health agencies across Europe recommend keeping indoor temperatures below 32°C during the day and 24°C at night, closing shutters and curtains on sun-facing windows, drinking water regularly, avoiding heavy meals and alcohol, and checking on older relatives and neighbours. The French health ministry and Belgium’s health ministry both publish heat-health action plans with region-specific advice during alerts. Anyone feeling dizzy, faint or breathless in the heat is advised to seek medical help.
