Europe heat waves kill 35,000, strain insurers

At least 35,000 excess deaths have been recorded during heat waves that have scorched Europe this year, The Guardian newspaper has reported.

The final death toll is likely to be far higher because data is not yet available for half of Europe's nations, and because none have yet published excess death totals for August.

The provisional death toll has prompted the US credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings to warn that Europe's heat waves will cause a spike in insurance claims, and increase the cost of life insurance and medical insurance.

It said insurance companies will have to pay many extra claims, including for crop damage caused by droughts, and devastation left by wildfires.

"Beyond heat-related deaths, it's also deteriorating health conditions and the resulting increase in treatment and hospitalizations that might weigh on insurers' financials and, subsequently, increase premiums," S&P Global Ratings said in its analysis.

Europe's fast-aging population is more susceptible to heat-related health issues, the company added, and "the increasing share of elderly people … suggests that heat-related mortality in Europe is likely to rise".

A recent study in The Lancet Planetary Health found that people aged 60 and older are more susceptible to excess heat because they sweat less and because their hearts work harder as their blood vessels cannot widen and increase flow.

Of the 35,000 excess deaths recorded so far in Europe, 10,650 occurred during a heat wave between June 22 and June 28, with 9,000 of those deaths among people aged 65 and older.

The Robert Koch Institute, a public health agency in Germany, said 9,600 of the 10,650 deaths happened in Germany, where a typical summer usually leads to around 2,000 heat-related deaths.

Excess fatalities

The heat-related deaths mean Europe is likely to see its largest number of excess fatalities since July 2022, when there was a spike connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Karl Lauterbach, a former German health minister, said last week that the latest figures are likely to be massive underestimates.

The four heat waves that have hit Europe so far this year have largely impacted the western side of the continent, where they have broken several records, including in France, where the hottest national average day on record was recorded. In Germany, temperatures topped 40 C for three straight days in June. And Spain saw many days of at least 42 C.

The hot weather has been attributed to human-made global warming exacerbated by an El Nino weather system.