At least 61,000 people died due to the scorching heat in 2022 due to Europe’s record-breaking summer, a new EU study has warned.

A Eurostat study found that there was an unusually high number of deaths last summer, which saw countries plagued with droughts, wildfires and devastating heatwaves.

Researchers dissected data linking temperatures and mortality from 2015 to 2022 across 35 European countries, covering a total of 543 million people.

Approximately 61,672 deaths were linked to the heat between May 30th and September 4th in 2022.

The week of 18th to 24th July, which saw a particularly intense heatwave, caused more than 11,600 deaths, worrying figures reveal.

More than half the deaths (63%) were women, while over-80s totalling the majority of heat-related deaths.

France recorded the biggest jump in temperatures in 2022, with a rise of  2.43 degrees Celsius.

It is followed by Switzerland’s 2.30 Celsius rise. Italy and Hungary recorded rises of 2.28 Celcius and 2.13 Celcius respectively.

Last year France recorded the biggest rise in heat compared to its previous summer averages, with a jump of 2.43 degrees Celsius, the study said.

In terms of mortalities, Italy recorded the most, with 18,010 heat-related deaths. Spain followed with 11,324 and Germany with 8,173.

The study’s authors called for more to be done against rising temperatures, with Europe heating up double the global average.