Germany reports over 5,000 deaths from June heatwave

Some 5,120 people died in Germany due to the heat from the beginning of this summer through the end of June, the Berlin-based Robert Koch Institute (RKI) estimated on Thursday.

The latest figure already surpassed the annual average of about 2,900 heat-related deaths recorded between 2023 and 2025, according to the RKI report on heat-related mortality, which is based, among other things, on monitoring death records from the Federal Statistical Office and data from the German Weather Service (DWD).

The institute estimated that heat-related deaths surged by 4,310 during the week of June 22–28, when Germany experienced its most intense heat. Temperatures soared above 40°C in parts of the country during that period.

For the period from April through June 21, the RKI had estimated 810 heat-related deaths. However, an RKI spokesperson said that virtually all of these deaths took place during the week of June 15–21.