The heat wave at the end of June in Germany caused thousands of additional deaths, according to calculations by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Based on estimates using a heat model, the extremely high temperatures led to at least around 5,100 heat-related deaths in Germany, the RKI announced on Thursday in Berlin.
The impact of the extreme heat could be even greater. As the Federal Statistical Office previously reported, the number of deaths during the heat week from June 22 to 28 was, was estimated to be 30 percent above the average value of previous years. According to this data, around 23,700 people died in Germany that week. This was about 6,800 more than just two weeks earlier, the statistics authority said. Excess mortality means that more people died during a given period than would normally be expected.
The temperatures measured in late June reached around 40 degrees Celsius in many places, with heat records of over 41 degrees recorded in some locations. Germany had not previously experienced heat of this intensity. According to the RKI, past heat periods have varied considerably in severity. 2018 and 2019 were the years with the highest heat-related death tolls to date, with 8,400 and 6,900 heat deaths respectively.
In the years 2022 to 2025, an estimated 2,600 to 4,900 heat deaths occurred each year.
Heat very rarely leads directly to death; in most cases, it is the combination of high temperatures and existing pre-existing conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, lung disease, or kidney disease, that causes death. For this reason, heat is not listed as the cause of death on death certificates and does not appear in cause-of-death statistics.
The scale of heat-related deaths is therefore calculated using statistical methods, by comparing the number of deaths in summer weeks with heat to those without.
"Heat is a silent killer and we are only at the beginning," warned Mauricio Vargas of Greenpeace. He called for more heat protection in municipalities. Politicians must not remain inactive, he said, but "must finally put a stop to the dying caused by heat."
The managing director of Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH), Barbara Metz, called on the federal government "to convene a heat crisis summit as quickly as possible, in order to establish effective heat protection on a binding basis and protect vulnerable groups." She pushed for concrete measures: "We need more trees, urban greenery and unsealed surfaces, to save human lives from the direct consequences of the escalating climate crisis."
"The past few weeks have shown how burdensome heat has become for our everyday lives," said Federal Building Minister Verena Hubertz (SPD). "When cities and municipalities heat up, school yards and playgrounds remain empty in the blazing sun, and especially children, families and elderly people suffer under the high temperatures, it becomes clear: climate adaptation is no longer a task for the future, it is necessary now."
Green Party health expert Johannes Wagner described the high number of heat deaths as a "total political failure." "For decades it has been clear that the climate crisis is deadly. And yet the federal government tramples climate protection underfoot and leaves people alone with the consequences," he said, criticizing the Union and SPD. Wagner called for a "national heat protection plan worthy of the name."
"These figures are shocking," said Left Party environmental politician Lorenz Gösta Beutin. "Heat is no longer an abstract future risk, but a deadly reality, even in Germany," said the chairman of the Bundestag's Environment Committee. Alongside heat action plans for municipalities, he also pushed for "better protection of employees during extreme heat as well as investments in climate-resilient hospitals, care facilities and schools."
The Building Ministry also reported high demand from municipalities for funds from the federal program "Adaptation of Urban and Rural Areas to Climate Change." The registered funding need significantly exceeds the available funds, according to a statement.
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