"Hottest Summer on Record"... Spain Records Over 5,000 Heat-Related Deaths

[Anchor]

Europe has also suffered from a murderous heatwave this summer, with temperatures exceeding 40°C (104°F). In Spain, the death toll from the heatwave has surpassed 5,000.

Paris correspondent Kwon Yeongin reports.

[Reporter]

This is Stonehenge, a famous tourist destination in the UK.

The lush green lawns have withered to a yellow brown due to a combination of record-breaking high temperatures and drought this summer.

The UK Met Office announced that the average temperature for this summer up to August 31 was 16.5°C (62°F), marking the highest since record-keeping began in 1884.

The previous highest average temperature was 16.1°C (61°F), recorded last year.

The record for the hottest summer has been broken once again in just one year.

Not only in the UK, but Austria also broke records this summer for average temperature, peak temperature, maximum number of heatwave days, and maximum tropical nights.

Germany, which recorded an average summer temperature of 19.6°C (67°F), experienced its second-hottest summer following 2003, when it reached 19.7°C (67°F).

[Stefke / German Citizen: August was truly extreme. It wasn't just a few days of exceeding 40°C (104°F); it just stayed hot continuously. The scorching heat has been going on for eight weeks.]

As heatwaves run rampant across various parts of Europe, casualties have also surged significantly.

Spanish authorities announced that the number of deaths caused by heatwaves this year has been tallied at 5,234.

This is the highest figure since relevant statistics began being compiled in 2015.

It is an increase of nearly 500 from the 4,789 deaths recorded in 2022.

With France also recording 1,200 excess deaths due to the heatwave during the single month of July, it is projected that heatwave-related deaths across Europe this summer will exceed 35,000.

In particular, countries like Italy, Spain, and Greece are still recording temperatures up to 8°C (14°F) higher than normal years, leading to analyses that the damage from the heatwave could further increase.

[Video Editing: Jang Hyun-ki]
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.