BERLIN, July 30 (Xinhua) -- Germany recorded an estimated 9,800 heat-related deaths as of July 19, surpassing the annual total for every year since 2016, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the country's leading public health authority, said Thursday.
More than 5,000 of the deaths were attributed to a heat wave in the second half of June, when temperatures approached 40 degrees Celsius in many parts of the country, according to the RKI.
The institute estimated that 7,900 heat-related deaths occurred between the beginning of April and July 12. A further 1,900 deaths were recorded during the week of July 13-19, the latest period covered by its weekly report.
Extreme heat poses a particularly serious risk to older people. Of the estimated deaths, 7,880 occurred among people aged 75 and above.
More women than men died as a result of extreme temperatures, a disparity the RKI attributed to the higher proportion of women in older age groups.
The RKI noted that heat rarely causes death directly. In most cases, fatalities result from a combination of high temperatures and pre-existing conditions, including cardiovascular, lung and kidney diseases.
According to the German Weather Service (DWD), temperatures are expected to range from 35 to 39 degrees Celsius in many parts of Germany on Thursday, with local highs of up to 40 degrees. ■
