WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.Image: keystone
June 29, 2026, 02:18June 29, 2026, 02:18
According to the head of the World Health Organization (WHO), the unprecedented heat wave with record temperatures in Europe is partly responsible for hundreds of additional deaths. “More than 1,300 additional deaths related to high temperatures have been recorded in Europe since June 21,” wrote Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Platform
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.
Driven by climate change and global warming, the phenomenon of the…
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) June 28, 2026
According to Tedros, 150 million people are currently suffering from extreme heat, schools are closed and the power grids are collapsing. Heat stress is often referred to as a “silent killer” – and European homes, workplaces and schools are not designed for such temperatures, wrote Tedros.
Last week he warned that around half a million people worldwide would die every year from heat-related complications. Many of these deaths can be avoided through protective measures. On Sunday, the French health authority announced that, according to preliminary data, around 1,000 more deaths than average had been registered during the extreme heat wave.
Record temperatures were recorded in several European countries over the weekend: In Germany, the record value on Sunday was 41.7 degrees in Neissemünde in the Oder-Spree district of Brandenburg. A maximum temperature for the country was recorded in Poland in the border town of Slubice on the Oder at 40.5 degrees. In the Czech Republic, an all-time high of 41.1 degrees was recorded for the second day in a row at the height of the heat wave. (sda/dpa)