Thousands of people died in the heatwave in Europe.

Omissions

• The claim does not specify which heatwave or year it refers to; official estimates (Copernicus ESOTC) put the death toll of each recent European summer heatwave in the tens of thousands — about 61,700 in 2022, 47,700 in 2023 and 62,800 in 2024 — so 'thousands' is accurate as a lower bound but substantially understates the magnitude.
• These figures are modelled estimates of heat-related (excess) mortality rather than directly certified heatstroke deaths, and methods vary between studies (e.g. Ballester et al. estimate 61,672 for summer 2022 only, 30 May–4 September).
• WHO Europe additionally estimates roughly 175,000 heat-related deaths annually across the wider WHO European region, which is a different (larger) geographic scope than the EU.

Sources

• PrimaryCopernicus Climate Change Service — European State of the Climate 2025, Thermal stressThere were estimated to be around 62,800 heat-related deaths in Europe in 2024, 47,700 in 2023 and 61,700 in 2022. An estimate for 2025 is not yet available.
• PrimaryCopernicus Climate Change Service — European State of the Climate 2024, Thermal stressThere were estimated to be around 47,700 heat-related deaths in Europe in 2023, and around 61,700 in 2022.
• AcademicBallester et al., 'Heat-related mortality in Europe during the summer of 2022', Nature MedicineWe estimated 61,672 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 37,643–86,807) heat-related deaths in Europe between 30 May and 4 September 2022.
• SecondaryUN News (citing WHO Europe)A staggering 175,000 people die from heat-related causes every year in Europe and that figure is set to soar in line with our steadily rising temperatures.