Bucharest, in the top of the European capitals with the most deaths caused by global warming. How many people have died this summer in Europe because of climate change
Cowel Bucharest. Photo: Inquam Photos / Octav Ganea
A group of British researchers say that almost 16,500 people out of over 24,400 who died in Europe have died due to extreme temperatures caused by greenhouse gases, The Guardian reports.
The global warming caused by man has caused two out of three deaths due to heat in Europe during this year's hot summer, researchers say in a preliminary study.
The study, conducted by researchers at Imperial College London University, analyzed data from 854 major European cities from June to August 2025.
Epidemiologists and climatologists attributed about 16,500 of the 24,400 deaths caused by heat between June and August to the extremely hot weather caused by greenhouse gases.
The analysis found that climate change caused the temperatures in cities to rise on average by 2.2 degrees Celsius, which has led to a significant increase in the number of deaths caused by the dangerous weather.
“The connection between the burning of fossil fuels, the increase of temperatures and the high mortality is undeniable. If we did not continue to burn fossil fuels in recent decades, most of the approximately 24,400 people in Europe would not have died this summer,” said Friederike Otto, climatologist at Imperial College London and co -author of the report.
Romania, included in the report
Italy, Spain and Germany were the most affected countries, according to the report. Italy recorded the highest number of heat -related deaths – 4,597 victims, followed by Spain, with 2,841 and Germany, with 1,477.
Romania is in fifth place, with 1,064 deaths attributed to the heat waves caused by climate change.
“Of the 30 European capitals, Rome, Athens and Bucharest have registered the highest excess mortality compared to the population this summer. The largest relative proportions of heat were observed in Stockholm, Madrid and Bratislava, where over 85% of the estimated deaths during the summer were attributed to the climate change,” College London.
Bucharest, at a population of 1.6 million inhabitants, registered 360 deaths associated with climatic heats, according to the researchers' report. With this figure, the capital of Romania is 7th in the top of the European capitals with the most deaths caused by global warming.
“Analyzing the 30 available European capitals, we estimated that Rome, Athens and Bucharest have registered the largest standardized mortality per 1 million inhabitants,” the reporters say.
The researchers found that the elderly were most affected by extreme temperatures, 85 % of deaths being registered in people over 65 and 41 % in people over 85 years old.
“The vast majority of heat -caused deaths occur in houses and hospitals, where people with pre -existing conditions are pushed to the limit,” said Garyfallos Konstantinoudis, an epidemiologist at Imperial College London and co -author.
“But the heat is rarely mentioned on the death certificates,” he concluded.
