Germany records nearly 100 drowning deaths, many of them young men, in June heatwave

People by Lake Walchensee in Bavaria this month. German authorities said 40 of those who drowned in June were under 30 years old. Photograph: Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto/Shutterstock View image in fullscreen People by Lake Walchensee in Bavaria this month. German authorities said 40 of those who drowned in June were under 30 years old. Photograph: Michael Nguyen/NurPhoto/Shutterstock Germany records nearly 100 drowning deaths, many of them young men, in June heatwave Authorities confirm worst toll in more than 20 years as new extreme temperatures force early closure of Eiffel Tower Nearly 100 people, the largest proportion of whom were young men, died by drowning in Germany last month, authorities have said, as extreme temperatures in western Europe that have been blamed for hundreds of excess deaths geared up again. In Germany’s worst death toll from drowning for more than two decades, 99 people died in June, according to official figures, after temperatures rose as high as 41.7C (107.1F) in some areas. The victims were largely young men, the federation said, with 40 of them under 30 years old – the biggest group among those whose ages were known. More than 90% were male. ‘Super’ El Niño could cause global food price shock lasting into 2028, analysts say Read more Germany’s lifeguarding federation said in a statement that the country “had not registered this many drownings since the heatwave of June 2003, when 107 people died”. More than 1,300 people across Europe died in the blazing start to the summer , according to the World Health Organization. Deaths by drowning have risen across the continent, with France’s sports minister, Marina Ferrari, ​saying on Friday it was the cause of death of 131 people ​there since 19 June. Last week, Germany’s main public health institute reported that the country had recorded at least 5,120 heat-related deaths this year , most of them in June. The Robert Koch Institute said about 4,270 were people aged 75 and older. Human-caused climate breakdown is supercharging extreme weather across the world, driving more frequent and more deadly disasters such as heatwaves and wildfires. In France this weekend, the Eiffel Tower and other Paris landmarks announced early closures as a quarter of the country sweltered under the third heatwave to hit the country since May. Twenty-four of the country’s departments, home to 22.2 million people, according to a calculation by Agence France-Presse, were under the maximum alert level issued on Sunday by the national weather service, Météo-France. View image in fullscreen Tourists walk past the Eiffel Tower, where a sign announces its early closure on Saturday. Photograph: Dimitar Dilkoff/AFP/Getty Images The operator of the Eiffel Tower said the monument would close early on Saturday and Sunday at 4pm, “due to the high temperatures forecast”. The 330-metre-high (1,083ft) structure, which attracts 7 million tourists a year, usually stays open past midnight during the high season. Two of