About 400 more people died compared to normal summer death rates in the Netherlands during the record heat wave that hit Europe in July, the Dutch statistics agency said on Friday.
Temperatures in the Netherlands reached 40.4 degrees Celsius on July 25, breaking the 1944 record and for the first time exceeding 40 degrees Celsius since the first recordings.
According to the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics, 2,964 people died during the week of July 22-27.
"The heat wave was short but very strong with temperatures exceeding all previous records in the Netherlands," the office said.
The highest mortality rates were recorded in the eastern Netherlands, where it was hotter than in other parts of the country, and in Europe during the heatwave, with Britain, Belgium, Germany and France experiencing the hottest days in their history.
