Heatwave last summer killed 61,000 people in Europe, research finds

Hottest summer on record - fuelled by climate crisis - brought unusually high mortality rates, statistics show

Searing heat killed more than 60,000 people in Europe last summer, scientists have found, in a disaster made deadlier by greenhouse gases baking the planet.

EU statisticians rang alarm bells in August, as sweltering heat, withering drought and raging fires consumed much of the continent, after seeing unusually high numbers of people die during Europe's hottest summer on record.