Climate breakdown tripled death toll in Europe’s June heatwave, study finds

A tourist covers with a range from the hot sun in Milan, Italy. Picture: AP

Planet-heating pollution tripled the death toll from the “quietly devastating” heatwave that seared Europe at the end of June, early analysis covering a dozen cities has found.

Scientists estimate that high heat killed 2,300 people across 12 major cities as temperatures soared across Europe between June 23 and July 2. They attributed 1,500 of the deaths to climate breakdown, which has heated the planet and made the worst extremes even hotter.