MADRID: More than 47,000 people died in Europe due to scorching temperatures in 2023, with countries in the region’s south hit the hardest, says a report by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) published on Monday.
Last year was the world’s hottest on record. As climate change continues to increase temperatures, Europeans live in the world’s fastest-warming continent, facing growing health risks stemming from intense heat.
🌡️Heat caused over 47,000 deaths in europe in 2023, according to an #ISGlobal study published in @NatureMedicine.
The research team estimated that heat-related mortality would have been 80% higher without the adaptation observed during this century.
🔗https://t.co/K2euiQ5TN3 pic.twitter.com/XHhnnjZ6BA
— ISGlobal (@ISGLOBALorg) August 12, 2024
The 2023 death toll – below the more than 60,000 heat-related deaths estimated for the previous year – would have been 80% higher without measures introduced in the past 20 years
to help people adapt to rising temperatures, such as early warning systems and healthcare improvements, according to the report by the Spanish research centre.
“Our results show how there have been societal adaptation processes to high temperatures during the present century, which have dramatically reduced the heat-related vulnerability and mortality burden of recent summers, especially among the elderly,” said Elisa Gallo, researcher at ISGlobal and lead author of the study.
“For example, we see that since 2000, the minimum mortality temperature – the optimum temperature with the lowest mortality risk – has been gradually warming on average over the continent, from 15ºC in 2000-2004 to 17.7ºC in 2015-2019. This indicates that we are less vulnerable to heat than we were at the beginning of the century, probably as a result of general socio-economic progress, improvements in individual behaviour and public health measures such as the heat prevention plans implemented after the record-breaking summer of 2003”, she added.
Researchers used death and temperature records from 35 European countries. They estimate that 47,690 died from causes related to high temperatures.
Adjusting the data for population, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain were the countries with the highest mortality rates related to heat.
Europe: Scorching heatwave bakes Greece, Balkan region. This heat wave is also having effects on animals. heatwave bringing temperatures of up to 44C (111.2F) to parts of Spain, sparking forest fires in Greece #Paris2024 #LetzteGeneration #ClimateCatastrophe #heatwave pic.twitter.com/PB3Qngsgvf
— netzfrauen☮️ (@netzfrauen) July 25, 2024
In line with previous studies, the data show a higher vulnerability of women and older people. Specifically, after accounting for the population, the heat related mortality rate was 55% higher in women than in men, and 768% higher in people over 80 years of age than in people aged between 65 and 79 years, the report said.
(REUTERS)
