Heat caused over 47,000 deaths in Europe during 2023, study finds

Experts estimate that more than 47,000 people died as a result of high temperatures in Europe in 2023, the world's warmest year since records began.

The figure is revealed in a modelling study, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, published in the journal Nature Medicine on Monday.

However, the international research group also reports that society appears to have adapted to the heat.

The team used mortality data from the European Statistical Office (Eurostat) on 96 million deaths to estimate the heat-related mortality burden in 2023 for 823 regions in 35 European countries.

According to these estimates, there were 47,690 heat-related deaths in Europe last year. This is the second-highest mortality rate since such calculations began in 2015, with the highest rate recorded in 2022.

The researchers found that the countries with the highest heat-related mortality rates are in southern Europe. Greece (393 deaths per million inhabitants), Bulgaria (229), Italy (209) and Spain (175) occupy the top four places in the estimate. In comparision, Germany's rate was 76 deaths per million inhabitants in 2023.

In absolute figures, the research group estimates the number of heat-related deaths for 2023 at just under 12,750 in Italy, and 6,376 in Germany. In almost all of the countries analysed significantly more women than men died from the effects of heat, with older people particularly susceptible.

The Barcelona team, led by Elisa Gallo, also modelled the effects of heat-related mortality without adaptation measures. These include, for example, improvements in healthcare, social protection and lifestyle, progress in occupational health, greater risk awareness, and more effective communication.