동유럽까지 닥친 폭염…“1,300여 명 초과 사망” / KBS 2026.06.29.

The record-breaking heatwave that originated in Western Europe has now hit even the relatively cooler Eastern Europe. The Czech Republic, Poland, and even the Baltic states had to battle the worst heat over the weekend. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that excess deaths related to this European heatwave have reached approximately 1,300. Correspondent Song Young-seok reports. [Report] The square is shrouded in a thick mist from the water sprayed by fire trucks. Tourists take a brief moment to cool off from the heat. On Sunday, the daytime temperature in Doxany, a small town near Prague in the Czech Republic, soared to 41.1 degrees Celsius. This is the highest recorded since weather observations began. [Raquel Széqueira / Tourist in Prague, Czech Republic: "My accommodation doesn't have air conditioning, so I keep the curtains closed all day, and I open the windows at night to make it a little cooler."] As the heat dome that recently swept through Western Europe bringing record-breaking heat moved eastward, unprecedented heat raged in Eastern Europe, including the Czech Republic and Poland. Lithuania, a Baltic nation at the eastern edge of Europe, has also entered its hottest June on record, with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees Celsius in many areas. [Aurelija Braze / Vilnius, Lithuania Citizen: "I came outside today to find shade. It is quite cool here because there is a river."] While the heat has subsided somewhat in Western Europe due to the movement of the heat dome, Central and Eastern European countries, including Germany, remained under the influence of the heatwave over the weekend. The Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) stated that more than 1,300 excess deaths related to high temperatures have been recorded in Europe since the 21st of this month. France was the hardest hit country, where approximately 1,000 excess deaths occurred over the three days starting on the 24th, with 85% of them identified as elderly individuals aged 65 or older. The heatwave in Europe is expected to subside this week as heavy rain is forecast for some countries. However, weather experts are warning that there is a high possibility that the heat dome, formed when hot air from Africa gets trapped over Europe, could re-develop at any time this summer. This is Song Young-seok reporting for KBS News from Berlin. Video Editing: Kim Eun-ju / Research: Kim Dae-young ▣ View Original KBS Article: http://news.kbs.co.kr/news/view.do?nc... ▣ Send a Tip ◇ KakaoTalk: Search for 'KBS Tip' ◇ Phone: 02-781-1234 ◇ Website: https://goo.gl/4bWbkG ◇ Email: [email protected] Copyright ⓒ KBS. All rights reserved. Unauthorized reproduction, redistribution, and use (including AI learning) are prohibited. #EasternEurope #Heatwave #Deaths #France #Summer