BRUSSELS — Europe's extreme heat wave intensified over the weekend, with the World Health Organization reporting more than 1,300 excess deaths across the continent since June 21 and forecasters warning that dangerously hot conditions will persist into the July 4 weekend.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the toll includes children who died after being left in locked vehicles and young people who drowned while seeking relief from the heat. He said the continent is warming at twice the global average, calling extreme heat a public health threat that governments must prepare for through coordinated action plans.
France remains among the hardest-hit countries. The country's national health agency recorded around 1,000 more deaths than expected since June 24, with the majority among people aged 65 and over, while at least 74 drowning deaths have been reported nationwide since June 18. Temperature records fell across central Europe, with the Czech Republic reaching 41.9 degrees Celsius at Doksany and Germany hitting 41.7 degrees Celsius at Coschen, both national highs. Poland recorded 40.5 degrees Celsius in Slubice, breaking a mark that had stood for more than a century.
Meteorologists have attributed the prolonged heat to an omega block weather pattern that traps hot, dry air from North Africa over the region, pushing temperatures as much as 18 degrees Celsius above seasonal averages. The World Weather Attribution scientific network has said the heat wave would have been virtually impossible this early in the season without human caused climate change.
AccuWeather meteorologists said Monday that more than 250 million people across Europe face continued dangerous heat heading into the July 4 weekend, though conditions were forecast to ease slightly in some western areas. National health and meteorological agencies across the continent continue to update casualty figures as the heat wave shifts toward Eastern Europe and the Balkans. This is a developing story.
