More than 5,000 deaths have been recorded in Germany this year due to heat waves, the Robert Koch Institute said, noting that the country is in a "transition phase" with increasingly frequent heat waves.
According to the RKI, 5,120 people have died since the beginning of the year in incidents attributed to particularly high temperatures. In the week from June 22 to 28 alone, 4,310 heat-related deaths were recorded, while 800 deaths were reported in the same context last week.
“Germany is currently in a transition phase. The fact that heat waves occur frequently is nothing new. Neither our buildings nor our habits have yet adapted properly, and we are seeing the effects in the death toll,” said RKI researcher Matthias an der Heiden, noting that while there are cases of heatstroke leading to death, in most cases the cause is a combination of pre-existing illnesses and exposure to excessive heat. People over 85 are particularly vulnerable, an der Heiden said.
