Germany logged 14,000 heat-related deaths this summer: govt data

FRANKFURT: Germany registered around 14,000 heat-related deaths this summer as Europe struggled through a series of punishing heatwaves, worse than a previous record high in 2018, official data showed Thursday.

Around 9,600 of those took place in one week in late June when Germany baked in temperatures of over 40C, according to the Robert Koch Institute.

The largest share of heat-related deaths occurred in the over-75 age group, the public health authority said in a statement.

“In some cases — such as heatstroke — exposure to heat leads directly to death, whereas in most instances, death results from a combination of heat exposure and pre-existing medical conditions,” said its report.

“Consequently, heat is not usually listed as the underlying cause of death on the death certificate; instead, statistical methods must be employed to estimate the extent of heat-related deaths.”

Looking back at recent years, the institute said it recorded 8,900 heat-related deaths in 2018, a figure which dropped to 2,000 or below in other years such as 2016.

“These differences can be attributed to the varying severity of the heatwaves,” it said.