Deadly 2025 European Heatwave Linked to Global Warming

A record-breaking European heat wave from June 23 to July 2, 2025, resulted in an estimated 2,300 deaths across 12 major cities, with about 1,500 of those directly attributed to global warming from fossil fuel use. Most victims were over 65 or suffered from chronic conditions such as epilepsy, heart disease, and dementia. Studies confirm that human-driven climate change is making heat waves hotter, longer, and more deadly, with each fraction of a degree in global temperature further accelerating their severity and duration. The elderly, chronically ill, and people without access to cooling are at greatest risk, and heat waves now surpass the death tolls of many recent disasters. Unless emissions are curbed, extreme and deadly heat events are expected to intensify and threaten billions of lives by mid-century. The findings underscore the urgent need for climate action and public health adaptation as extreme heat becomes increasingly common.