Germany said it recorded roughly 5,000 excess deaths during the late-June heat wave. The figure refers to deaths above the expected number during the hottest period, with health authorities attributing the spike to the prolonged extreme temperatures.

The reporting connected the rise in mortality to the heat hitting hardest on older residents, who are most vulnerable to heat stress—especially when homes and workplaces are not equipped to cope with sustained high temperatures. Across Europe, similar patterns were reported as multiple countries logged record highs and unusually warm nights, followed by sharp increases in expected-vs-actual deaths.

Authorities and experts continued to note that excess-death totals can change as more data is compiled, but the German figure reinforced concerns that extreme heat events are increasingly dangerous and require rapid protective measures during heat waves.