There could have been more than 61,000 heat-related deaths across Europe last year during the summer heatwaves, a new study has found.

Mediterranean countries Italy and Spain suffered most, with 18,010 and 11,324 deaths respectively, with 3,469 people dying in the UK.

Heatwaves have long been known to cause a spike in deaths, especially for older people, whose bodies are less able to regulate temperature and any pre-existing cardiovascular or respiratory illnesses are exacerbated by higher temperatures.

Around 10 times as many women over 80 died compared with women and girls aged 0-64 and more than three times as many males over 80 died compared with those aged 0-64.

Led by Barcelona’s Institute for Global Health, the researchers analysed more than 45 million records of deaths in 35 countries between May 30 and September 4, 2022.

The European Statistical Office, Eurostat, has reported a high number of excess deaths across the continent during last summer but this is the first time they have been linked explicitly to heat.

Publishing in the journal Nature Medicine, the researchers found a large spike in the number of deaths during the intense heat at the end of July, when 40C temperatures reached the UK for the first time on record.

Women were disproportionately affected throughout the summer, which was the hottest season on record in Europe. Relative to population, there were 56% more heat-related deaths among them compared to men.

Data for the number of deaths between sexes in the UK was not available.

Dr Raquel Nunes, assistant professor in environmental change and public health at The University of Warwick, said: “The implications of this study in the real world are significant.

“The high number of heat-related deaths during the summer of 2022 in Europe highlights the urgent need for action to protect vulnerable populations from the impacts of heatwaves.

“National governments, relevant agencies, and other bodies need to be called upon to increase the effectiveness of heat prevention and adaptation plans.

“This implies the allocation of resources, implementation of targeted interventions to reduce the negative consequences of extreme heat events.”

Despite being the hottest summer on record, the number of heat-related deaths in 2022 is thought to be lower than in summer 2003, when over 70,000 excess deaths were recorded and which prompted, in the UK, a heatwave plan for England.

The researchers said plans such as this need to increase their ambition and effectiveness “with urgency”.

Dr Nunes said there could be better public awareness campaigns about the risk of heat, warning systems, home visits and social support to check on vulnerable people, as well as housing adaptations to improve ventilation or cooling centres where people can escape the heat, especially if they lack a cooling system at home.

Dr Chloe Brimicombe, climate scientist and extreme heat researcher at the University of Graz, said: “This study highlights a key heat risk across Europe but especially to women.

“It demonstrates that heat prevention strategies need to be re-evaluated, with gender and age especially in mind.

“This research could be taken further assessing the social vulnerability of citizens across Europe in the future because heat doesn’t impact people equitably.

“We need climate mitigation to help stop the impact of heat becoming worse in the future.”