Berlin, Sept 14: Europe's blistering summer heat wave claimed far more lives in Germany than previously thought, with the death toll possibly as high as 7,000, news weekly focus reported in an advance copy of its Monday issue. The chairman of the German funeral parlor industry association, rolf-dieter Lange, told focus that undertakers had seen a sharp increase in deaths in August, when temperatures soared in some regions above 40 degrees celsius.

"We registered between five and 10 per cent more deaths per day than the long-term average, with an upward trend toward the end of the month," said Lange, who is also the spokesman of Germany's largest funeral home company, Ahorn-Grieneisen. Lange said that the average August death toll is about 70,000 people and that between 3,500 and 7,000 more people died this August.

Scorching temperatures in neighbouring France killed more than 11,000 people, sparking intense criticism of the center-right government for its handling of the health emergency.

Bureau Report