A recent study conducted by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and the French National Institute of Health has revealed that over 60,000 people died as a result of extreme temperatures in Europe last summer. This alarming statistic has raised concerns about the lack of preparation in multiple countries for the increasing heatwaves fueled by climate change.
The study found that between May 30 and September 4 of last year, there were 61,672 deaths caused by hot weather across 35 European countries. The summer of 2022 was recorded as the warmest ever experienced on the continent, surpassing the previous record set just a year earlier. Temperatures soared over 2 degrees Celsius above the recent average in countries such as France, Switzerland, and Spain.
The high number of heat-related deaths last year echoes the devastating summer of 2003 when Europe witnessed 70,000 excess deaths due to extreme heat. Following that event, several countries implemented early-warning systems for heatwaves and improved their planning around healthcare services. However, the staggering death toll in 2022 illustrates the limitations of these measures, as noted by the study's authors.
Despite the existence of prevention plans in many countries, the study indicates that current adaptation strategies may still be insufficient. Hicham Achebak, one of the authors, states, "The fact that more than 61,600 people in Europe died of heat stress in the summer of 2022, even though, unlike in 2003, many countries already had active prevention plans in place, suggests that the adaptation strategies currently available may still be insufficient."
It is particularly concerning that older individuals and women were disproportionately affected by the extreme temperatures of last year. Heat-related mortality was 63% higher among women compared to men, and more than half of the deaths were of people aged 79 and above. Italy, Spain, and Germany reported the highest number of heat-linked deaths. Interestingly, while France and Switzerland experienced the most significant departure from average temperatures, the highest death rates were reported in Mediterranean countries like Italy, Greece, Spain, and Portugal, indicating their vulnerability to extreme heat.
Europe is currently the fastest-warming continent, with the UK specifically experiencing unprecedented temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in 2022, which would have been highly unlikely without the influence of climate change, as confirmed by a separate study. Additionally, the continent is grappling with aging populations and insufficiently adapted housing and infrastructure to handle extreme heat.
"The temperatures recorded in the summer of 2022 cannot be considered exceptional, in the sense that they could have been predicted by following the temperature series of previous years," says Joan Ballester Claramunt, the lead author of the Nature Medicine study. "They show that warming has accelerated over the last decade."
If adequate planning is not urgently introduced, the study warns that heat-related deaths could average 68,000 in Europe each summer by 2030 and escalate to 120,610 by 2050. This emphasizes the pressing need for comprehensive and effective strategies to mitigate the impacts of climate change and protect vulnerable populations from the increasing threat of extreme heat.