More than 1,300 people have died across Europe since the 21st of June due to the record-breaking high temperatures, the World Health Organisation has said.
The extreme heat continues in central and Eastern Euope as temperatures are expected to reach 38C today.
All time temperature records were broken on Sunday in Germany, Denmark and the Czech Republic, similar to records broken in France and Britain earlier that week.
The highest temperature recorded in Ireland was 32.1C in Athenry, Co Galway. The entire country experienced the extreme heat as Met Éireann issued a Status Yellow heat warning and stressed that "the exceptionally warm weather could lead to water safety issues, uncomfortable sleeping conditions and heat stress."
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In a post on X, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the 1,300 deaths since June 21st were linked to the extreme heat. "Heat stress is often called the 'silent killer', and European homes, workplaces, and schools were not built for these temperatures," he said.
"Europe is the fastest-warming continent on Earth, heating at twice the global average. Right now 150 million people are living under extreme heat, hundreds have died, schools are shut, grids are buckling," he continued.
France's national health ministry said on Sunday morning that there was a 1,000 more deaths than expected since Wednesday. They stated that they noted a 40% rise in people dying at home and that many of the extra deaths were among those aged over 65 years old.
According to the Independent, before the heatwave, France's daily death rate was between 900-1,000. The agency concluded that they experienced an additional 1,000 deaths during those three days of the heatwave. The figures include not only those who died of heat stroke but those whose deaths were caused by the strain extreme heat can have on the heart and other organs.
Germany experienced their hottest day for a third consecutivge day after 41.7C was recorded in the east of the country, data showed.
The Czech Republic set its second temperature record in two days, as temperatures reached up to 41.1C in Doksany, north of Prague.
UN climate chief, Simon Stiell told The Guardian that Europe's current heatwave has "the fingerprints of the climate crisis all over it" and is the latest price to pay for "fossil fuel pollution baking our planet”.
“Until humanity stops burning colossal amounts of coal, oil and gas, extreme heat will keep getting worse, and other climate impacts – from mega-droughts, floods, wildfires and storms – will keep hammering every economy and population harder each year," he said.
Stiell explained that the solutions are clear and encourages a faster switch to renewables, "which are now much cheaper than fossil fuels – as well as protecting forests and boosting climate resilience."
"Many countries need support to embrace clean energy and protect their peoples. There’s no time to lose," he continued.
Head of the World Health Organisation, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also warned that the extreme hot weather is putting people's health at risk. He said that “Europe’s heatwave is closing schools and putting people’s health at risk. The data are clear: temperatures across Europe are rising at roughly twice the global average rate, increasing the likelihood and severity of extreme heat in the future."
