3,100 heat-related deaths reported in Germany in 2023

Around 3,100 people have died in Germany so far this year as a result of high temperatures, health researchers in Berlin estimate, reported dpa.

The largest share of heat-related deaths are in the age group of 75 and older, according to the latest weekly report of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the government's main scientific institution in the field of biomedicine.

In absolute terms, more women than men die in connection with heat. However, this can be attributed to the high proportion of women in the older age groups.

The number of deaths varies greatly from year to year, depending on the severity of the heat wave.

The RKI put the number of heat-related deaths in Germany at more than 6,000 people in 2018, 2019 and 2015 respectively. In 2014, 2016, 2017 and 2021, there were between about 1,000 and about 1,700 cases.

In most cases, it is the combination of heat and pre-existing conditions that leads to death. "Therefore, heat is not usually indicated as the underlying cause of death on the death certificate," the institute said in its report.

Instead, the RKI estimates the extent of heat-related deaths using statistical methods that incorporate air temperature and mortality data.