The death toll from Europe’s ongoing heatwave has now exceeded 1,300, with Germany recording its highest temperature ever as the continent grapples with a climate event that scientists say is a clear fingerprint of global warming. The German Weather Service confirmed a reading of 42.6°C in the town of Coschen, near the Polish border, breaking the previous record of 41.2°C set just last year.
This is not an anomaly; it is a pattern. The human cost is mounting. In Spain, the Carlos III Health Institute reports 786 heat-related deaths since July 10. In Portugal, the Directorate-General for Health has recorded 238 excess deaths in the same period. France has seen at least 23 deaths directly attributed to heatstroke or dehydration. Italy, with temperatures reaching 45°C in Sicily, reports 107 deaths in the past week alone.
What we are witnessing is the physical reality of a warming planet. The atmosphere can hold about 7% more water vapour per degree Celsius of warming. This leads to more intense and prolonged heatwaves, as high pressure systems become stuck, baking the same region for days. The jet stream, which normally moves weather systems along, is weakening due to the reduced temperature difference between the Arctic and the tropics. It becomes wavier, allowing these blocking patterns to persist.
The energy imbalance is clear. We are adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere at a rate that has not been seen for at least 66 million years. The planet is accumulating heat at an unprecedented rate, equivalent to 4 Hiroshima atomic bombs per second. This heat ends up in the oceans, the atmosphere, and the land. It is why we are seeing this cascade of records.
Germany’s record is not just a number. It is a symptom of a system under stress. The infrastructure designed for a stable climate is failing. Railway tracks buckle, roads melt, power grids struggle to meet demand for air conditioning. Hospitals are overwhelmed with patients suffering from heatstroke, kidney failure, and heart attacks. The elderly, the young, and those with pre-existing conditions are most vulnerable, but even healthy people are at risk when the wet-bulb temperature approaches the limit of human survivability.
This is not a future event. It is happening now. And every fraction of a degree of warming we prevent through rapid decarbonisation will save lives. The technology exists: solar, wind, nuclear, and energy storage are all scalable. The barrier is political will. The longer we delay, the more we lock in these outcomes.
As I speak, the heatwave is not over. Forecasts show temperatures remaining well above 35°C across much of Europe for the next week. The death toll will rise. We are in a climate emergency, and the world’s response remains profoundly inadequate. The physical laws of thermodynamics do not care about our intentions. They care about the concentration of greenhouse gases we put into the atmosphere. And right now, we are still adding more.
The question we must ask ourselves is not whether the climate is changing. It is whether we will act decisively, as the evidence demands. Or will we continue to count the dead?
This is Dr. Helena Vance, reporting for the Science & Climate Desk.
