Over 60,000 Europeans died from heat during 2024 summer: studyBy Julien Dury and Daniel LawlerParis (AFP) Sept 22, 2025More than 60,000 people died from heat in Europe during last year's record-breaking summer, a benchmark study said Monday, in the latest warning of the massive toll climate change is having on the continent. Taking this uncertainty into account, the 2024 study gave a wider estimate range of between 35,00 to 85,000 deaths. According to the study, Italy was the country with the most heat deaths last summer with an estimated 19,000, followed by Spain and Germany, both with over 6,000. Unlike Monday's study -- which looked at actual recorded deaths -- the rapid attribution study estimated how many people died from heat by extrapolating from previous years. Janos said that both kinds of research played an important role, one offering a "first assumption" of heat deaths and the other giving "more robust, precise estimates" that could guide policy.