Science Source

Death toll exceeded 70,000 in Europe during the summer of 2003

Assesses the excess mortality cumulated during summer 2003 at the request of the European Union, covering sixteen countries
Finds that observations suggest that next to the exceptional mortality crisis, which occurred at the beginning of August and which was so large that none could ignore it, there may be a sequence of minor crises, which pass almost unnoticed
Analyzes summer mortality for the reference period 1998–2002 and for 2003 and finds more than 70,000 additional deaths occurred in Europe during the summer 2003