Researchers said they believe that human-driven climate change probably intensified the recent European heat wave and increased the number of heat-related deaths.

Europe's latest spell of sizzling heat, which ended last week, caused a threefold rise in heat-related deaths because human-induced climate change boosted the intensity of the heat wave, British scientists said.

The severe heat wave sweeping across Europe since last week is estimated to have caused around 2,300 deaths, according to a study released on Wednesday.