Heat waves don’t get as much attention as blizzards, floods, and hurricanes, but extreme heat is one of the deadliest weather events on average.

Research:
National Weather Service. “Weather Related Fatality and Injury Statistics.” https://www.weather.gov/hazstat
Last, John. “This Summer’s Drought Is Europe’s Worst in 500 Years. What Happened Last Time?” Smithsonian Magazine. 9/8/2022. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-summers-drought-is-europes-worst-in-500-years-what-happened-last-time-180980711/
Wetter, Oliver; Seneviratne, Sonia I. et al. “The year-long unprecedented European heat and drought of 1540 - a worst case.” Climatic Change 125(3-4), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1184-2
Orth, Rene et al. “Did European temperatures in 1540 exceed present-day records?” Environmental Research Letters. 11 (2016) 114021 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/114021.
United Nations Environment Programme. “Impacts of summer 2003 heat wave in Europe.” Environmental Alert Bulletin. https://www.unisdr.org/files/1145_ewheatwave.en.pdf
Pfister, Christian. “The ‘Black Swan’ of 1540: Aspects of a European Megadrought.” From Climate Change and Cultural Transition in Europe. Brill. 1/1/2018. doi:10.1163/9789004356825_007
Grodzinsky, Ewa, and Märta Sund Levander. “History of the Thermometer.” Understanding Fever and Body Temperature: A Cross-disciplinary Approach to Clinical Practice 23–35. 23 Aug. 2019, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-21886-7_3
John Huxham, Dr. Watson. “Remarks upon the Heat of the Air in July 1757. in an Extract of a Letter from John Huxham, M. D. F. R. S. to William Watson, M. D. F. R S. Dated at Plymouth 19th of That Month. With Additional Remarks by Dr. Watson.” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758), pp. 428-430 (3 pages). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/105279.
Huxham, John. “An Account of the Extraordinary Heat of the Weather in July 1757, and of the Effects of It. In a Letter from John Huxham, M. D. F. R. S. to Wm. Watson, M. D. F. R. S..” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/105292
Smeaton, John. “Remarks on the Different Temperature of the Air at Edystone, from That Observed at Plymouth, between the 7th and 14th of July 1757. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S.” Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758). https://www.jstor.org/stable/105286
Sunderland, Helen. “The Great British Summer? A Historical Heatwave.” Doing History In Public. 8/12/2025. https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/2025/08/12/the-great-british-summer-a-historical-heatwave/
Scott, John. “Four elegies, descriptive and moral.” London J. Buckland. 1760.
The Western Flying Post; or, Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury. Page 3. 8/15/1757.
Lind, James. “An essay on the most effectual means of preserving the health of seamen in the Royal Navy.” 1774.
Walpole, Horace. “The letters of Horace Walpole, fourth earl of Orford.” Vol. 3: 1750-1756. Oxford. 1903.
Zwierlein, Cornel. "Chapter 3 The Danger between Nature and Culture: The Quotidian Threat of Urban Fires in the Premodern Era". Prometheus Tamed. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004431225_004 Web.
Luterbacher, Jürg et al. “European Seasonal and Annual Temperature Variability, Trends and Extremes since 1500.” Science 303, 1499 (2004). DOI: 10.1126/science.1093877
Beniston, Martin. “The 2003 heat wave as an example of summers in a greenhouse climate? Observations and climate model simulations for Basel, Switzerland.” Global and Planetary Change. Volume 44, Issues 1–4, December 2004. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921818104000980
Franck, Marcy. “Heat waves and annual death rates in older adults in the United States.” Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 3/16/2026. https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/heat-waves-and-annual-death-rates-in-older-adults-in-the-united-states/
Poitras, Colin. “Warming U.S. climate linked to rising deaths from heat.” Yale School of Public Health. 11/7/2025. https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/warming-us-climate-linked-to-rising-deaths-from-heat/
World Meteorological Association. “Western Europe has hottest June on record.” 7/9/2026. https://wmo.int/media/news/western-europe-has-hottest-june-record
Cole, Deborah. “Germany records nearly 100 drowning deaths, many of them young men, in June heatwave.” The Guardian. 6/12/2026. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/12/germany-drowning-deaths-heatwave-paris-france-spain
PBS News. “Europe swelters under an early heat wave as France records 40 drowning deaths.” 6/23/2026. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/europe-swelters-under-an-early-heat-wave-as-france-records-40-drowning-deaths

Heat waves don&rsquo;t get as much attention as blizzards, floods, and hurricanes, but extreme heat is one of the deadliest weather events on average.
Research:
<ul>
<li>National Weather Service. &ldquo;Weather Related Fatality and Injury Statistics.&rdquo; https://www.weather.gov/hazstat</li>
<li>Last, John. &ldquo;This Summer&rsquo;s Drought Is Europe&rsquo;s Worst in 500 Years. What Happened Last Time?&rdquo; Smithsonian Magazine. 9/8/2022. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/this-summers-drought-is-europes-worst-in-500-years-what-happened-last-time-180980711/</li>
<li>Wetter, Oliver; Seneviratne, Sonia I. et al. &ldquo;The year-long unprecedented European heat and drought of 1540 - a worst case.&rdquo; Climatic Change 125(3-4), https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-014-1184-2</li>
<li>Orth, Rene et al. &ldquo;Did European temperatures in 1540 exceed present-day records?&rdquo; Environmental Research Letters. 11 (2016) 114021 doi:10.1088/1748-9326/11/11/114021.</li>
<li>United Nations Environment Programme. &ldquo;Impacts of summer 2003 heat wave in Europe.&rdquo; Environmental Alert Bulletin. https://www.unisdr.org/files/1145_ewheatwave.en.pdf</li>
<li>Pfister, Christian. &ldquo;The &lsquo;Black Swan&rsquo; of 1540: Aspects of a European Megadrought.&rdquo; From Climate Change and Cultural Transition in Europe. Brill. 1/1/2018. doi:10.1163/9789004356825_007</li>
<li>Grodzinsky, Ewa, and M&auml;rta Sund Levander. &ldquo;History of the Thermometer.&rdquo; Understanding Fever and Body Temperature: A Cross-disciplinary Approach to Clinical Practice 23&ndash;35. 23 Aug. 2019, doi:10.1007/978-3-030-21886-7_3</li>
<li>John Huxham, Dr. Watson. &ldquo;Remarks upon the Heat of the Air in July 1757. in an Extract of a Letter from John Huxham, M. D. F. R. S. to William Watson, M. D. F. R S. Dated at Plymouth 19th of That Month. With Additional Remarks by Dr. Watson.&rdquo; Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758), pp. 428-430 (3 pages). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/105279.</li>
<li>Huxham, John. &ldquo;An Account of the Extraordinary Heat of the Weather in July 1757, and of the Effects of It. In a Letter from John Huxham, M. D. F. R. S. to Wm. Watson, M. D. F. R. S..&rdquo; Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758). Via JSTOR. https://www.jstor.org/stable/105292</li>
<li>Smeaton, John. &ldquo;Remarks on the Different Temperature of the Air at Edystone, from That Observed at Plymouth, between the 7th and 14th of July 1757. By Mr. John Smeaton, F. R. S.&rdquo; Philosophical Transactions (1683-1775), Vol. 50 (1757 - 1758). https://www.jstor.org/stable/105286</li>
<li>Sunderland, Helen. &ldquo;The Great British Summer? A Historical Heatwave.&rdquo; Doing History In Public. 8/12/2025. https://doinghistoryinpublic.org/2025/08/12/the-great-british-summer-a-historical-heatwave/</li>
<li>Scott, John. &ldquo;Four elegies, descriptive and moral.&rdquo; London J. Buckland. 1760.</li>
<li>The Western Flying Post; or, Sherborne and Yeovil Mercury. Page 3. 8/15/1757.</li>
<li>Lind, James. &ldquo;An essay on the most effectual means of preserving the health of seamen in the Royal Navy.&rdquo; 1774.</li>
<li>Walpole, Horace. &ldquo;The letters of Horace Walpole, fourth earl of Orford.&rdquo; Vol. 3: 1750-1756. Oxford. 1903.</li>
<li>Zwierlein, Cornel. "Chapter 3 The Danger between Nature and Culture: The Quotidian Threat of Urban Fires in the Premodern Era". Prometheus Tamed. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004431225_004 Web.</li>
<li>Luterbacher, J&uuml;rg et al. &ldquo;European Seasonal and Annual Temperature Variability, Trends and Extremes since 1500.&rdquo; Science 303, 1499 (2004). DOI: 10.1126/science.1093877</li>
<li>Beniston, Martin. &ldquo;The 2003 heat wave as an example of summers in a greenhouse climate? Observations and climate model simulations for Basel, Switzerland.&rdquo; Global and Planetary Change. Volume 44, Issues 1&ndash;4, December 2004. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0921818104000980</li>
<li>Franck, Marcy. &ldquo;Heat waves and annual death rates in older adults in the United States.&rdquo; Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. 3/16/2026. https://hsph.harvard.edu/news/heat-waves-and-annual-death-rates-in-older-adults-in-the-united-states/</li>
<li>Poitras, Colin. &ldquo;Warming U.S. climate linked to rising deaths from heat.&rdquo; Yale School of Public Health. 11/7/2025. https://ysph.yale.edu/news-article/warming-us-climate-linked-to-rising-deaths-from-heat/</li>
<li>World Meteorological Association. &ldquo;Western Europe has hottest June on record.&rdquo; 7/9/2026. https://wmo.int/media/news/western-europe-has-hottest-june-record</li>
<li>Cole, Deborah. &ldquo;Germany records nearly 100 drowning deaths, many of them young men, in June heatwave.&rdquo; The Guardian. 6/12/2026. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jul/12/germany-drowning-deaths-heatwave-paris-france-spain</li>
<li>PBS News. &ldquo;Europe swelters under an early heat wave as France records 40 drowning deaths.&rdquo; 6/23/2026. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/europe-swelters-under-an-early-heat-wave-as-france-records-40-drowning-deaths</li>
</ul>

Join Holly and Tracy as they bring you the greatest and strangest Stuff You Missed In History Class in this podcast by iHeartRadio.

Stuff You Missed in History Class

Heat waves don’t get as much attention as blizzards, floods, and hurricanes, but extreme heat is one of the deadliest weather events on average.

Three Historic Heatwaves

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