Heatwave kills more than 10,000 in Europe in 7 days

A record-breaking heatwave in Europe in late June has killed more than 10,000 people. More than 9,000 of those affected were aged 65 or over, according to data released by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the World Health Organization (WHO).

Severe heatwaves can cause heatstroke. Heatwaves can also exacerbate heart and respiratory problems, with older people at greatest risk.

“This is an unusual number of deaths at this time of year,” Lasse Vestergaard, chief physician at the Statens Serum Institut in Denmark, which is organising EuroMed, told Reuters. “The number is very worrying. It is difficult to find any other explanation for this unusual death rate other than the intense heatwave.”

Scientists have said that the heatwave in late June was caused by climate change. The figures were based on data from seven days, when heatwaves reached their peak between June 22 and 28 in France, Spain, the UK and other countries.

According to Eurostat, the combined death toll in these countries in the previous eight weeks was about 500 fewer than normal, on average. However, this figure may change if new data is added in the future.

Eurostat did not release the death toll for each country separately. However, it said that in the last week of June, only France and Belgium recorded ‘excessive mortality’ in Europe. According to data from the Belgian public health institute ‘Scientifico’, this is the highest death toll in any heatwave in the country since 2000.

Meanwhile, another study published on Monday (July 13) found that about 2,700 people died in England and Wales during the heatwaves in May and June alone. A study by Imperial College London, the UK Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found that 42 percent of these deaths were due to the increase in the intensity of heat waves caused by global warming.

News NDTV.