Nearly 10,000 people in Germany have died in connection with high temperatures in 2026, exceeding any full-year total since 2016, according to estimates from the Robert Koch Institute. The institute estimated 9,800 heat-related deaths between early April and July 19.
More than 5,000 of these deaths were linked to an intense heatwave in the second half of June, when temperatures in some areas approached 42 degrees Celsius (107.6 degrees Fahrenheit). The European Union's Copernicus climate service reported that June 2026 was the hottest June ever recorded in western Europe.
Germany's Federal Statistical Office noted that deaths during the week of June 22 to 28 were 32% higher than in the same period last year, with the Robert Koch Institute attributing at least 5,100 deaths in that week to the heat. Another 1,900 heat-related deaths were recorded during the week from July 13 to 19.
The institute highlighted that mortality typically rises noticeably during weeks when the average temperature exceeds 20 degrees Celsius. The final death toll for the summer could increase further, as current estimates do not include hot weather after July 19 and may be revised with more complete mortality data.
The previous highest annual heat-related death toll in the past decade was around 9,000 in 2018.
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