The Heatwaves project
Reporting on the impact of heatwaves across Europe
The summer 2026 was likely the most dangerously hot summer that Europe has experienced. Heatwaves are estimated to have killed more than 50,000 people in cities across Europe—the largest such toll this century. What’s more, nearly two thirds of those deaths can be attributed to the effects of human-caused global heating.
These findings came in October 2026 from teams of scientists at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM). Their latest work is being published by the prestigious journal Nature Health.
The release of these sobering numbers comes as we together with our European media partners and Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism (CCIJ), and advised by the LSHTM team, begin a collaboration that aims to put estimates of deaths from extreme heat for individual cities into the hands of journalists across the continent.
Together we are working on methods to improve reporting and informing on the impact of heatwaves across Europe. We are launching the project with the first story revealing the deadly impact of heatwaves of the summer 2026 across 854 European cities.
As the climate crisis increases its hold, understanding the deadly impact of heatwaves and taking steps to cool cities and protect the elderly and other vulnerable groups will be crucial.
