Heat-related mortality in Europe during the summer of 2022

This European-wide study quantified the mortality associated with record-breaking temperatures during the summer of 2022, currently the hottest season on record in Europe, and analyzed it within the broader context of the summer of 2003 and the accelerated warming observed in the continent during the last decade (2013–2022). Epidemiological models were applied to a mortality database representing the whole population of over 543 million people from 823 contiguous regions in 35 European countries. 

In relative terms, the largest summer heat-related mortality rates were found in countries near the Mediterranean Sea, which included Italy, Greece, Spain and Portugal. The results showed that there was a large increase in heat-related mortality during June–August 2022, approaching the record-breaking excess mortality of June–September 2003.