TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Europe's record-breaking heat wave has claimed more than 1,300 excess deaths since June 21, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), as extreme temperatures continued to shatter national records across the continent over the weekend.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said around 150 million people across Europe are living under extreme heat, with schools closed and power grids coming under increasing strain. He described heat stress as a "silent killer," warning that homes, workplaces, and schools across Europe were not designed to withstand such prolonged high temperatures.
As reported by DW, Germany recorded its highest temperature for the third consecutive day. The German Weather Service (DWD) reported a provisional reading of 41.7 degrees Celsius in the rural settlement of Coschen in Brandenburg on Sunday, surpassing Saturday's record of 41.5 degrees Celsius recorded in Drewitz, Saxony-Anhalt.
Earlier, Friday's record of 41.3 degrees Celsius in Saarbrücken had marked the beginning of an unprecedented streak of new national temperature highs.
The DWD said the most intense heat has shifted eastward, with eastern German states such as Brandenburg and Saxony experiencing the highest temperatures. Weather officials expect conditions to gradually ease as the so-called "heat dome" moves toward Central Europe and the Balkans.
Neighboring countries also experienced record-breaking temperatures.
The Czech Hydrometeorological Institute (CHMI) reported that Doksany, about 50 kilometers north of Prague, reached 41.9 degrees Celsius, the highest temperature ever officially recorded in the country. Officials said it marked the first time temperatures above 41 degrees Celsius had been observed in the Czech Republic's national weather station network.
Poland also experienced exceptional heat, with operational weather data showing 40.5 degrees Celsius in the border town of Slubice. If confirmed, the reading would surpass the country's previous record of 39.5 degrees Celsius set in the same town in 1994. Temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius remain highly unusual across Central and Eastern Europe.
France has also been severely affected by the heat wave, reporting at least 1,000 more deaths than average during the extreme weather period.
According to the WHO, more than 1,300 excess deaths linked to high temperatures have been recorded across Europe since June 21.
Tedros said the UN health agency is working with member states and partners to strengthen preparedness and improve public health responses, including promoting national heat-health action plans.
A separate rapid scientific assessment found that the ongoing European heat wave would have been "virtually impossible" without human-induced climate change. The study concluded that such extreme heat events are now up to 200 times more likely than they were just two decades ago.
Meteorologists expect the current heat dome to continue moving east over the coming days, bringing dangerous temperatures to parts of Central Europe and the Balkans while conditions gradually improve in Western Europe.
Read: France Logs 1,000 More Deaths Than Average in Heat Wave Struck Areas
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