EUROPE (Enmaeya News) — A potent 10-day heatwave that swept through Western Europe from June 23 to July 2, 2025, has been linked to an estimated 2,300 heat-related deaths across 12 major cities, including Barcelona, Madrid, London, Milan and Paris.

Alarmingly, 1,500 of these deaths — about two-thirds — are directly attributed to human-driven climate change, which raised temperatures by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius compared to a scenario without fossil fuel emissions.

Dr. Ben Clarke of Imperial College London emphasized that climate change “made it significantly hotter than it would have been,” turning a normal heatwave into a lethal event. The elderly were disproportionately affected, with 88% of climate-driven fatalities occurring among people aged 65 and older.

According to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, June 2025 ranked as the third-hottest June on record globally and the warmest ever recorded in Western Europe, triggering “very strong heat stress” across the affected regions.

Experts warn this silent yet deadly heatwave highlights critical gaps in public health preparedness and climate mitigation efforts, especially for vulnerable populations. With rising greenhouse gas levels, such extreme events are expected to become more frequent and severe, underscoring the urgent need for resilient heat-health systems and faster climate action.