Heatwaves killed an estimated 50,000 people in Europe's cities this summer, including 4,500 in the UK, study finds

Scientists blame man-made climate change for more than 32,000 of the deaths, roughly two in every three. The modelled toll from June to August dwarfs the previous record of about 29,000 in 2022. Italy suffered worst with 13,303 deaths, ahead of France, Spain and Germany. Researchers at Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine studied 854 cities.

Almost a third of the deaths came in a single fortnight, from June 17 to July 1.

Imperial's Clair Barnes said some cities sweltered at 12C above normal.

The authors say the true toll is higher because May's deadly heatwave was not counted.