At least 15,000 people have died in Europe because of hot weather in 2022 so far, the World Health Organization said Monday, with Spain and Germany among the worst-affected countries.

The three months from June-August were the hottest in Europe since records began, and the exceptionally high temperatures led to the worst drought the continent has witnessed since the Middle Ages.

"Based on country data submitted so far, it is estimated that at least 15,000 people died specifically due to the heat in 2022," the WHO's Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement.

"Nearly 4,000 deaths in Spain, more than 1,000 in Portugal, more than 3,200 in the United Kingdom, and around 4,500 deaths in Germany were reported by health authorities during the 3 months of summer," he added.

"This estimate is expected to increase as more countries report on excess deaths due to heat," it said, highlighting the UN climate summit in Egypt and its calls for rapid action.

Crops withered in European breadbaskets, as the historic dry spell drove record wildfire intensity and placed severe pressure on the continent's power grid.

Successive heatwaves between June and July, which saw temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in Britain for the first time, saw some 24,000 excess deaths in Europe.

"Heat stress, when the body cannot cool itself, is the leading cause of weather-related death in the European Region," the WHO said.

It added that extreme temperatures can be a danger to people who suffer from chronic heart disease, breathing problems and diabetes.

WHO said increasing heatwaves and other extreme weather will "lead to more diseases and deaths" in the next decades unless "drastic" action is taken.

Spain had hottest month of October on record: govt
Madrid (AFP) Nov 7, 2022 –

October 2022 was the hottest month of October in Spain since records started in 1961, the government said Monday after experts warned that unusually warm temperatures pointed to accelerating climate change.

The average temperature for the month was 18 degrees Celsius (64.4 Fahrenheit) — 3.6 degrees Celsius higher than the average temperature recorded in October between 1981 and 2020, the ministry for ecological transition said Monday.

Up until now the warmest October recorded in Spain was that of 2020 when the average temperature was 0.6 degrees above the average, and 2017 when its was 0.3 degrees above normal level, the statement added.

The unusually warm October follows a summer in Spain and much of Europe marked by repeated heatwaves which fuelled wildfires and worsened drought conditions.

The mild October kept outdoor terraces full across much of Spain while beaches were more crowded than usual for this month.

October 2022 was also especially dry in Spain, with 68 percent less rain that the normal level for the month, the ministry said.

This has been the fourth driest year in Spain since records started being kept.

Between January and October the country received an average of 355 litres of rainfall per square metre, 26 percent less than the normal level, the statement said.

Ruben del Campo, the spokesman for Spain's meteorological service Aemet, told AFP at the end of October that the unusually warm temperatures were a sign of the "notable acceleration" in climate change over the past decade.