Heat caused nearly 50,000 deaths in Europe last year: study

More than 47,000 people died in Europe last year due to extreme heat, according to a new report.

The figure comes from modelling by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health that was published on Monday.

The researchers found that southern Europe had the highest mortality rates on the continent during 2023 — the hottest year on record.

Greece saw an estimated 393 deaths related to heat per million inhabitants, followed by Bulgaria with 229 deaths, Italy with 209 deaths and Spain with 175 deaths.

In comparison, Germany saw an estimated 76 deaths per million inhabitants.

Significantly more women died from heat than men in most of the countries analyzed, and older people were particularly susceptible to death. These health risks are set to increase with climate change.

Heat adaptations save lives

The report also found that adaptations like healthcare improvements, early warning systems, better communication and progress in occupational health all reduced the heat mortality rate.

Without these adaptations, the number of deaths would have been 80% higher, according to the study.

"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 the study's lead author Elisa Gallo.

The study found that the temperature with the lowest mortality risk has gradually increased from 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) in the period from 2000-2004, to 17.7 degrees Celsius (63.86 degrees Fahrenheit) in the period 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 behavior and public health measures such as the heat prevention plans implemented after the record-breaking summer of 2003," Gallo said.

zc/jsi (dpa, Reuters, AFP)