Nearly 100 million people experienced temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius as Europe sweltered in the heat on Thursday.
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The death toll in Europe has also increased abnormally as the heatwave has intensified, officials say. According to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the death toll in Europe has increased by at least 1,300 compared to normal since June 21 due to the heatwave.
“Heat stress is often described as a silent killer. And Europe’s homes, workplaces and schools are not built to withstand these temperatures,” he said. France has recorded the highest number of deaths. On Sunday morning, the French Health Ministry said the average death toll in the three days since Wednesday had risen by more than 1,000 compared to normal.
Before the heatwave began in France, between 900 and 1,000 people died daily in April and May. Nearly 1,400 people died in a single day on Thursday, when the heatwave was at its peak. Similarly, another 1,400 deaths were recorded on Friday. The ministry also said that the death toll could be higher as some deaths at home and in care homes have not yet been digitally recorded.
Most of the deaths were people over 65, the ministry also said. The number of deaths at home has increased by 40 percent, the ministry said.
Jouher Harteli, the owner of a funeral home in Paris, said he was receiving calls every minute asking for funerals. He said that it was impossible to serve them because there was a shortage of space in the morgue.
It could take months and weeks to determine the exact number of deaths due to the problems caused by the heat. But the number of deaths in France has clearly increased abnormally. Especially in the last two weeks, many elderly people have died at home as temperatures have been high.
‘Europe is the continent that is experiencing the hottest weather in the world. "The temperature here is rising at twice the global average," Tedros said. "Tens of millions of people are living in extreme heat. Hundreds of people have died. Schools are closed."
In eastern Germany, temperatures reached 41.7 degrees Celsius on Sunday, the highest ever. In Doksane, north of the Czech capital Prague, temperatures reached 41.1 degrees Celsius. Poland also set a new record for the highest temperature. The temperature here was 40.5 degrees Celsius on Sunday.
On Thursday, a music festival in the Netherlands was canceled due to the high heat.
Authorities in Paris banned public drinking. The ban, imposed before the World Cup soccer match between France and Norway on Friday afternoon local time, remained in place until Sunday morning. Similarly, a Pride march scheduled to be held here was also canceled.
At least 74 people have drowned while swimming in France since the start of the summer.
Scientists have said that this situation may have been caused by climate change. Scientists have made this analysis after a new study by the World Weather Attribution (WWA). Almost half of Europe's 850 largest cities are in the grip of extreme heat.
'This is the largest heat wave ever to spread across Europe,' said Dr. Theodore Kipping, who was involved in the WWA study, 'Over the past 50 years, the average temperature of the Earth has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius. We found that the probability of such a heat wave occurring during this period is high. This would not have been possible in June without climate change. Such waves may continue to occur in the future.' On Thursday, about 100 million people experienced temperatures above 35 degrees during the peak of the summer in Europe.
