A dry beech tree is pictured in a forest near Gladbeck, western Germany, on August 25, 2026, following soaring summer temperatures and low rainfall. (Photo: AFP)

Germany registered a record 15,800 heat-related deaths this summer as Europe struggled through a series of punishing heatwaves, the national public health institute said Thursday.

The worst affected group were people over 75, and around 9,600 heat-linked deaths were recorded in one week in late June when Germany baked in temperatures over 40C, said the Robert Koch Institute (RKI).

Another 4,000 heat related deaths were recorded between late July and mid-August, said the institute in its latest update.

This summer, heat and drought have battered much of Europe, contributing to a spike in heat-related mortality while fuelling wildfires, devastating many crops and dropping water levels in major rivers.

The institute said it has collected such heat mortality data for the past decade and that the previous record was 8,900 heat-related deaths in 2018. A separate report by a medical publication had estimated 10,000 heat deaths in 1994.

Extreme heat can cause death directly, for instance through heatstroke, but mostly proves fatal combined with existing conditions such as cardiovascular, lung or kidney diseases.

The RKI models heat-related mortality using statistical methods that compare deaths during summer weeks with and without heatwaves.