Scientists issue warning after heat wave deaths spike

PARIS — A heat wave scorching Europe had barely subsided in early July when scientists published estimates that 2,300 people may have died across a dozen major cities during the extreme, climate-fueled episode.

The figure was supposed to "grab some attention" and sound a timely warning in the hope of avoiding more needless deaths, said Friederike Otto, one of the scientists involved in the research.

"We are still relatively early in the summer, so this will not have been the last heat wave. There is a lot that people and communities can do to save lives," Otto, a climate scientist at Imperial College London, told AFP.