The estimate exceeds the previous high of 948 heat-related deaths recorded for the same period in 2024. AGES estimated 428 heat-related deaths during the summer months of 2025, Anadolu Agency reported.
Since 2017, estimates for June through August have ranged from 324 heat-related deaths in 2020 to 948 in 2024.
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AGES stressed that the figures are statistical estimates covering the entire three-month period rather than a direct count of individual deaths attributed specifically to heat.
The methodology also accounts for the delayed effects of extreme temperatures on mortality, meaning the impact of heat exposure can extend beyond the days when temperatures peak. AGES said estimates may be revised as more underlying data become available.
The elevated mortality estimate came during Austria’s hottest summer in 260 years of temperature records.
More than 100 monitoring stations operated by GeoSphere Austria recorded new temperature records during the summer.
For the first time since nationwide records began, temperatures exceeded 41 degrees Celsius (105.8 degrees Fahrenheit), reaching 41.2C (106.2F) in Bad Deutsch-Altenburg in Lower Austria on Aug. 5.
Temperatures surpassed 40C on three days during the summer, while Austria also recorded its highest number of heat days on record.
The figures highlight the potential health impact of prolonged periods of extreme heat, particularly as unusually high temperatures become more frequent across Europe.
