Germany raises heat-related death estimate to nearly 12,000

Nearly 12,000 people in Germany are estimated to have died from heat-related causes so far this year, with the vast majority of deaths linked to an extreme heatwave in late June, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) said on Thursday.

The German public health agency now estimates that about 9,600 heat-related deaths occurred during the week of June 22-28 alone, when temperatures reached around 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country. The revised estimate is sharply higher than an earlier figure of just over 5,000 deaths for the week.

The updated estimate brings the total number of heat-related deaths between April 6 and July 26 to around 11,900. The previous highest annual figure was about 9,000 deaths in 2018.

The RKI said the revised estimates were based on more complete mortality data from Germany's Federal Statistical Office, which are published with a five-week delay, as well as temperature data from 52 weather stations operated by the German Weather Service.

Older people accounted for the vast majority of heat-related deaths, with those aged 85 and over the hardest hit.

The RKI said heat-related mortality typically increases once the weekly average temperature exceeds 20 degrees Celsius. During the week of June 22-28, the nationwide average reached 26.4 degrees, well above that threshold.