Study: Nearly 62,000 people died in 2022 European heatwave

A girl cools off in a Paris fountain during the 2022 summer heatwave.
(Image credit: Justin Tallis / AFP via Getty Images)

During the heatwave that engulfed Europe over the summer of 2022, nearly 62,000 people died of heat-related illnesses, according to a new study published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine.

The deaths occurred between May 30 and Sept. 4, researchers said, with the elderly and women particularly harmed — the heat-related mortality rate was 63% higher in woman compared to men, and the death toll was highest for people 65 and older. Italy had the most deaths, at 18,000, followed by Spain with around 11,000 and Germany with roughly 8,000.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us
Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.