Alemanha teve 5.655 mortes a mais durante onda de calor em junho

 

Termômetros passaram dos 40ºC na Alemanha durante a onda de calor no final de junho

Termômetro marca 41°C em Berlim, na Alemanha, no dia 27 de junho deste ano - Axel Schmidt/Reuters 

País superou marcas históricas de temperatura por três dias seguidos

Em dias quentes, chegou-se a registrar o asfalto derretido perto de trilhos de bonde

Redação DW

 País registrou 23,6 mil óbitos de 22 a 28 de junho, quando recordes de temperatura foram quebrados, contra uma média de 18,1 mil no mesmo período de 2022 a 2025. 

A Alemanha registrou 5.655 mil mortes a mais que o esperado na penúltima semana de junho, quando o país foi varrido por uma onda de calor extremo que quebrou recordes históricos de temperatura, informou o Escritório Federal de Estatísticas.

Foram 23.665 mil óbitos de 22 a 28 de junho, contra uma média de 18.179 no mesmo período dos quatro anos anteriores. Os dados são preliminares, mas, como apontou o portal n-tv, há 26 anos não morriam tantas pessoas em uma única semana de verão.

Naquela semana, o país superou marcas históricas de calor por três dias seguidos. A pior marca, 41,7ºC medidos em 28 de junho, foi registrada em Coschen, em Brandemburgo, no leste do país. Na virada de 26 para 27, o país teve sua noite mais quente, com sufocantes 29,4ºC medidos em Kubschütz, na Saxônia, também no leste do país.

Na mesma época, o calor extremo produziu cenas insólitas na Alemanha, como o asfalto derretido no entorno dos trilhos de bonde em Leipzig, no estado da Saxônia, e autoestradas "estouradas" pelo país.

Calor levou à interrupção do serviço de bondes em Leipzig

Uma semana antes, de 15 a 21 de junho, as autoridades alemãs contabilizaram 18.427 mortos, muito próximo da média dos quatro anos anteriores para o mesmo período.

Onda de calor castigou boa parte da Europa

Outros países europeus também foram duramente afetados pelo calor no final de junho.

 

Dados preliminares apontam mais de 4,7 mil mortes adicionais para o período na França, Holanda, Bélgica e Espanha, com a expectativa que o número aumente ainda mais, conforme outros países ainda atualizam seus balanços.

Embora o alto número de mortes esteja muito provavelmente relacionado ao clima extremo, não se pode falar automaticamente em mortes por calor. Esses casos são difíceis de determinar, principalmente quando se trata de idosos e pessoas com doenças preexistentes.

"Que as altas temperaturas têm influência é incontestável — mas em que medida muitas vezes não está claro", disse o diretor médico do serviço de emergência da cidade de Colônia, Alexander Lechleuthner, citado pela revista alemã Der Spiegel.

A crise climática tem tornado ondas de calor mais intensas e frequentes. Por isso, alguns especialistas apontam que as altas temperaturas serão cada vez mais consideradas um fator de risco à saúde.

"Com certeza temos mais mortes associadas ao calor do que ao trânsito", afirmou Uwe Janssens, diretor da Associação Interdisciplinar Alemã de Cuidados Intensivos e Medicina de Emergência (DIVI), à Spiegel.

Ao portal t-online, Sebastian Klüsener, diretor de pesquisa do Instituto Federal de Pesquisa sobre População, disse que se o número de mortos nas próximas semanas se mantiver nos níveis esperados em vez de diminuir, é sinal de que o calor provavelmente não só "antecipou" a morte de quem já tinha baixa expectativa de vida, mas também precipitou a morte de pessoas consideradas mais saudáveis.

 

At least 25 people die in US as record heatwave scorches swaths of country. More than 20 states reported temperatures above 100F as heat dome sits over eastern US during holiday weekend

A woman grabs water from a bucket on the National Mall in Washington DC during 250th anniversary celebrations on 4 July. Photograph: Dominic Gwinn/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock

 

 by Lucy Campbell

 

At least about two dozen people have died amid the perilous climate crisis-driven heatwave that has scorched swaths of the US with record temperatures.

As a huge heat dome sits over the county’s eastern half, extreme heat gripped millions of people in the days leading up to the US’s semiquincentennial on Saturday – and beyond it. More than 20 states experienced have reported stifling temperatures more than 100F (38C), marring celebrations. And more than 140 million people remained under active heat alerts across the US on Sunday.

Officials in New Jersey believe the extreme heat was a factor in the deaths of 22 people across 10 counties there, mostly in central and northern parts of the state. Many of the individuals were found in homes with no air conditioning, outside their residences, on the street and in parked cars, according to officials.

 

The first of those deaths occurred on Thursday, and the ages of the deceased in question mostly range from their mid-30s to their 80s. Preliminary findings cause investigators to believe the deaths are heat-related, though the chief state medical examiner for New Jersey would later determine the exact cause of death for each.

“This is not a typical summer heatwave,” the New Jersey department of public health said in a statement. “This type of heat can quickly become life-threatening to humans and to animals of all ages.”

 

The National Weather Service (NWS) has said cool air from the north in the coming days is going to lower some of the most extreme temperatures in the region, including New Jersey. The Fifa World Cup final is scheduled to be held in the New Jersey city of East Rutherford on 19 July.

Elsewhere, a heat-related death was reported in Cook county, Illinois, Natalia Derevyanny, a government spokesperson, told NBC News. The cause of that death was recorded as organic cardiovascular disease – with heat stress as a contributing factor.

Hinds county in Mississippi reported the death of 74-year-old Mitchell Ray Cooley due to heat exposure on Thursday, state officials said. Cooley had been reported missing, and his body was found the next day behind a gas station, the county coroner said in a statement.

 

People watch the Sail 250 parade of ships at Liberty State Park in Jersey City, New Jersey, on 4 July. Photograph: Adam Gray/Reuters

 

“Mr Cooley suffered from a medical condition that impaired his judgment,” the coroner’s office said. “Based on the investigative findings, scene examination, and subsequent evaluation, the cause of death has been determined to be weather-related heat exposure. At this time, there is no indication of foul play.”

Meanwhile, on 27 June, Martha Irene Van Egmond, 83, died in Bolton, Mississippi, after falling in her garden. When her husband, Rick, tried to help her up, he fell too. The couple were unable to get up and spent hours in the heat.

Rick Van Egmond said he and his wife called out for help, and eventually two men from a nearby apartment complex came – but it was too late for Martha. She died surrounded by flowers, doing what she loved, he said to local news outlet WAPT.

Jeramiah Howard, Hinds county’s chief death investigator, attributed her death to the heat combined with her age, WAPT reported.

A person cools off with water from an open fire hydrant during a heatwave on the West Side of Chicago, Illinois, on 2 July. Photograph: Octavio Jones/AFP/Getty Images

As Donald Trump spoke during rain-dampened celebrations in Washington DC on Saturday, emergency services there had treated 51 people with heat-related issues as of 8pm ET, with 12 taken to nearby hospitals, according to local emergency response officials.

Other events scheduled for Saturday – including the Independence Day parade in DC – were cancelled amid the blistering heat. Among other weather-related disruptions, Trump’s so-called Great American State Fair on the National Mall also temporarily closed down on Friday after reports that 44 visitors had been treated for heat-related illnesses.

The worst of the heat started moving out of the US’s north-east and midwest regions by Sunday, shifting farther south into the mid-Atlantic and south-eastern parts of the country.

But scientists warn that heatwaves with extreme temperatures are indications that the world must lower the greenhouse gas pollution driving the global climate crisis.

The NWS is urging the public to avoid heat sickness by drinking plenty of fluids as well as staying out of the sun and in air-conditioned environments. Officials have also asked people to check on relatives and neighbors

Extreme heat is a killer. A recent heat wave shows how much more deadly it’s becoming

The thermometer of a drugstore shows the temperature of 39 degrees Celsius (102 degrees Fahrenheit) during a heat wave, in Rome, Tuesday, July 1, 2025.

Andrew Medichini/AP

 

 By

Laura Paddison

 

 

Extreme heat is a killer and its impact is becoming far, far deadlier as the human-caused climate crisis supercharges temperatures, according to a new study, which estimates global warming tripled the number of deaths in the recent European heat wave.

For more than a week, temperatures in many parts of Europe spiked above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Tourist attractions closed, wildfires ripped through several countries, and people struggled to cope on a continent where air conditioning is rare.

The outcome was deadly. Thousands of people are estimated to have lost their lives, according to a first-of-its-kind rapid analysis study published Wednesday.

A team of researchers, led by Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, looked at 10 days of extreme heat between June 23 and July 2 across 12 European cities, including London, Paris, Athens, Madrid and Rome.

They used historical weather data to calculate how intense the heat would have been if humans had not burned fossil fuels and warmed the world by 1.3 degrees Celsius. They found climate change made Europe’s heat wave 1 to 4 degrees Celsius (1.8 to 7.2 Fahrenheit) hotter.

The scientists then used research on the relationship between heat and daily deaths to estimate how many people lost their lives. 

 

They found approximately 2,300 people died during ten days of heat across the 12 cities, around 1,500 more than would have died in a world without climate change. In other words, global heating was responsible for 65% of the total death toll.

“The results show how relatively small increases in the hottest temperatures can trigger huge surges in death,” the study authors wrote.

Heat has a particularly pernicious impact on people with underlying health conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes and respiratory problems.

People over 65 years old were most affected, accounting for 88% of the excess deaths, according to the analysis. But heat can be deadly for anyone. Nearly 200 of the estimated deaths across the 12 cities were among those aged 20 to 65. 

 Climate change was responsible for the vast majority of heat deaths in some cities. In Madrid, it accounted for about 90% of estimated heat wave deaths, the analysis found. 

 

The study’s focus on 12 cities makes it just a snapshot of the true heat wave death toll across the continent, which researchers estimate could be up to tens of thousands of people.

“Heatwaves don’t leave a trail of destruction like wildfires or storms,” said Ben Clarke, a study author and a researcher at Imperial College London. “Their impacts are mostly invisible but quietly devastating — a change of just 2 or 3 degrees Celsius can mean the difference between life and death for thousands of people.

 

The world must stop burning fossil fuels to stop heat waves becoming hotter and deadlier and cities need to urgently adapt, said Friederike Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London. “Shifting to renewable energy, building cities that can withstand extreme heat, and protecting the poorest and most vulnerable is absolutely essential,” she said.

Akshay Deoras, a research scientist at the University of Reading who was not involved in the analysis, said “robust techniques used in this study leave no doubt that climate change is already a deadly force in Europe.”

Richard Allan, a professor of climate science at the University of Reading who was also not involved in the report, said the study added to huge amounts of evidence that climate change is making heat waves more intense, “meaning that moderate heat becomes dangerous and record heat becomes unprecedented.”

It’s not just heat that’s being supercharged in out hotter world, Allan added. “As one part of the globe bakes and burns, another region can suffer intense rainfall and catastrophic flooding.”

 

‘A horror movie’: sharks and octopuses among 200 species killed by toxic algae off South Australia

 

A dead shark found on a beach in South Australia is among dozens of marine species killed by a toxic algal bloom. Photograph: L Cameron

 Petra Stock

 Karenia mikimotoi algae can suffocate fish, cause haemorrhaging and act as a neurotoxin, one expert says

 

More than 200 marine species, including deepwater sharks, leafy sea dragons and octopuses, have been killed by a toxic algal bloom that has been affecting South Australia’s coastline since March.

Nearly half (47%) of the dead species were ray-finned fish and a quarter (26%) were sharks and rays, according to OzFish analysis of 1,400 citizen scientist reports.

Cephalopods – such as squid, cuttlefish and octopuses – accounted for 7%, while decapods – crabs, lobsters and prawns – made up 6% of species reported dead or washed up on beaches.

The OzFish South Australian project manager, Brad Martin, said the harmful bloom – of Karenia mikimotoi algae – was like a toxic blanket that smothered marine life.

 

“It can suffocate fish from their gills, cause haemorrhaging by attacking their red blood cells, and act as a neurotoxin and attack the fish’s nervous system and brain, causing unusual behaviour,” he said.

“This is why some fish and sharks are acting so strangely and why many of the dead have a red tinge – it is like a horror movie for fish.”

According to the state’s environment department, the algal bloom was being driven by an ongoing marine heatwave – with water temperatures 2.5C hotter than usual – as well as relatively calm marine conditions with little wind and small swells.

While not toxic to humans, the algae could cause skin irritations and respiratory symptoms, and caused mass mortalities in marine life.

The algae was first identified in mid March on the state’s Fleurieu Peninsula and had since expanded to coastlines across the south-east, the Gulf St Vincent, the Yorke Peninsula and Kangaroo Island, Martin said.

 

OzFish, an organisation dedicated to restoring waterways and fish habitats, was concerned about the long-term impact on fisheries, given the bloom had killed fish at all ages – from fingerlings, or baby fish, up to full-grown breeding fish – as well as their food sources.

Several oyster farms and the commercial harvesting of pipis have been temporarily closed due to the outbreak, which has been unprecedented for South Australia, its environment minister, Susan Close, said.

“We’re talking about a very large algal bloom with a significant impact on marine life,” she said, with some parts of the outbreak going 20 metres deep.

Marine biologist Prof Shauna Murray from the University of Technology Sydney – who identified the algae under the microscope and by analysing its DNA – said there were about 100 species of harmful algae, each with a different toxic effect.

 

While still not well understood, Karenia mikimotoi was thought to produce a reactive oxygen that caused gill cell damage in fish – which meant they could not breathe, Murray said.

While the current bloom extended for more than 150km, it was not the worst in Australia’s history. In 2013, a bloom of a different species, Alexandrium catenella, had “covered the entire east coast of Tasmania and shut down their aquaculture and seafood industries for about four months”, she said.

Large blooms could also reduce the amount of oxygen in the water, said Prof Martina Doblin, a UTS oceanographer who specialises in algal blooms.

Karenia mikimotoi is an unusual algae that could feed on sunlight as well as other organisms, she said. And it is these characteristics, combined with unusually high and stable water temperatures, that enabled the algal bloom to become so large and sustained.

“In low abundance, it is part of the natural food web. But in high abundance, it can become very problematic,” Doblin said.

Such events were rare, but they can be devastating for local economies, she said. Improved early warning systems and management had the potential to limit the damage.

Strong westerly winds were ultimately needed to dissipate the algae, according to a spokesperson for SA’s environment department. “However, persistent high-pressure systems affecting southern Australia have delayed these winds,” they said.

 

Climate crisis caused half of European heat deaths in 2022, says study

 

People cooling down in the fountains of the Trocadero gardens in Paris as Europe experienced an unusually extreme heatwave in 2022. Photograph: Christophe Ena/AP

 Researchers found 38,000 fewer people – 10 times number of murders – would have died if atmosphere was not clogged with greenhouse pollutants

 

Climate breakdown caused more than half of the 68,000 heat deaths during the scorching European summer of 2022, a study has found.

Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) found 38,000 fewer people would have died from heat if humans had not clogged the atmosphere with pollutants that act like a greenhouse and bake the planet. The death toll is about 10 times greater than the number of people murdered in Europe that year.

“Many see climate change as a future concern,” said the lead author, Thessa Beck. “Yet our findings underscore that it is already a pressing issue.”

The warm weather killed more women than men, more southern Europeans than northern Europeans, and more older people than younger people. Scientists already knew carbon pollution had made the heatwaves hotter but did not know how much it had driven up the death toll.

 

They found 56% of the heat-related deaths could have been avoided if the world had not been warmed by burning fossil fuels and the destruction of nature. The share varied between 44% and 54% in the six years prior.

Even small increases in temperatures can have devastating impacts on public health, said Emily Theokritoff, a researcher at Imperial College London who was not involved in the study. “This result makes sense – heat-related death increases rapidly as temperatures push past the limits people are acclimatised to.”

 

Europe is warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet but doctors warn its hospitals are not prepared to deal with the consequences. The rise in temperatures forces more people to endure searing summer heat that pushes their bodies into overdrive even as it cuts exposure to chilling winter cold that leaves them too weak to fight off illness.

Scientists project the lives lost to hotter summers in Europe will outstrip those saved by cooler winters if the planet heats more than 2C above preindustrial levels. Last week, the UN environment programme warned the world is on track to heat by 3C by the end of the century.

The dangers of extreme heat are even greater in Africa, Asia, and South America, but a lack of data had limited studies on how it affects human health, said Beck.“A common misconception is that only extreme temperatures pose a serious risk,” she said. “However, our study, along with previous research, shows that even moderate heat can lead to heat-related deaths, particularly among more vulnerable populations.”

 

Scientists had previously used heat and health data for 35 European countries to estimate how many more people die as a result of hot weather. In the new study, they ran the model with temperatures for a hypothetical world in which humans had not heated the planet.

They found climate change was behind 22,501 heat deaths in women and 14,026 heat deaths in men.

Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, a researcher at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study, said the authors may have overestimated the effect of heat on mortality because they did not account for how people had adapted.

He said: “Previous studies have reported a decrease in heat-mortality impact over time, due to factors including infrastructural changes and improved health care.”

To stay safe in the heat, doctors recommend drinking water, staying indoors during the hottest parts of the day and looking after older neighbours and relatives who live alone. Governments can save lives by creating action plans for hot weather, designing cities with more green space and less concrete, and cutting pollution.

“Heat can be very dangerous for the heart, especially for older people,” said Beck.