Overview
- The Lancet Countdown Europe 2026 reports an estimated 62,000 heat-related deaths in 2024 as heat mortality rose in 99.6% of regions compared with the 1990s baseline.
- Days with public health heat warnings rose 318% versus 1991–2000, with a 450% jump in Western Europe including Germany, which leaves older adults and infants at higher risk.
- Pollen seasons now begin one to two weeks earlier across allergenic trees, and the annual dengue transmission risk increased 297% compared with 1980–2010 as disease-carrying mosquitoes expand.
- Even as renewable power reached 21.5% of Europe’s electricity in 2023, governments spent €444 billion subsidizing fossil fuels that year after the post-2022 energy shock.
- The authors say political focus on climate and health has waned, with only 21 of nearly 4,500 European Parliament speeches in 2024 linking the two and research output falling in 2023, and they urge stable funding for health adaptation.