C3S reports August 2026 was the hottest on record, with global temperature reaching 16.96 degrees

Belgium's public health office reported 2,935 excess deaths above the normal level during three heat waves from June 18 to August 16, representing an excess mortality rate of 22.6%. In the first wave, from June 18 to July 3, there were 2,035 additional deaths, or 48.8% above the expected level, the highest since the analysis of heat wave impacts began in 2000. The other two periods, July 4-17 and July 28-August 16, saw excess deaths of 535 and 365 respectively, with excess mortality rates of 14.8% and 7%. Although those aged 65 and above were the most affected, higher-than-normal deaths were also observed among younger people. This past summer, Europe faced multiple heat waves, while the United Nations weather agency noted that periods of extreme heat are becoming more frequent, intense, and longer-lasting due to climate change.

The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's public health agency, said the estimated number of heat-related deaths in Germany from the start of the year through August 9 stood at around 14,000, a rate of nearly 17 per 100,000 people. The figure exceeds the full-year totals of every previous year, breaking the previous record set in 2018, when about 9,000 people died from heat, and it continues to trend upward. The elderly are at especially high risk, with people aged 75 and over accounting for nearly 10,500 of all heat-related deaths this year.

The Mayor of London's office has released a report saying climate change could cause up to £36 billion, or $50 billion, in damage to London per year by the 2050s, with lost working hours, business disruption, and damage to infrastructure from extreme weather likely to drag down London's gross domestic product. The report recommends that businesses adjust working hours, allow working from home, and relax dress codes, while calling on Transport for London to install air conditioning in new underground trains and find ways to keep trains and platforms cool. The Greater London Authority will prioritise protecting parks, publicising cool spaces, providing more public toilets and drinking water, and increasing shade in public areas. Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said climate change is threatening the lives of Londoners and causing hundreds of millions of pounds in economic damage, stressing the need to build cooler homes and buildings, greener and shadier communities, and infrastructure resilient to hotter weather. This summer, five heatwaves and weeks of low rainfall put pressure on the UK's public services, water systems, and infrastructure, while research in July found that the June heatwave caused £1.15 billion in damage to the English economy.