Heatwaves may have caused over 2,700 deaths in England and Wales – study
Kyiv • UNN
Two heatwaves in 2024 may have caused over 2,700 deaths in England and Wales. More than 40% of them are linked to climate change, which raised temperatures by 3-4°C.
Two heatwaves this year may have caused more than 2,700 deaths in England and Wales, with over 40% of them linked to climate change. This is according to a study by Imperial College London, the UK Met Office, and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, as reported by Bloomberg, writes UNN.
Details
According to researchers' estimates, due to climate change, temperatures during the recent heatwaves were 3-4°C higher than they would have been under natural conditions. It is this factor, they calculate, that is associated with more than 40% of deaths.
Heat is the most dangerous type of extreme weather. This extreme heat we are now experiencing due to anthropogenic climate change is extremely dangerous for human health
Record heat grips Europe
The study's authors estimated that the record May heatwave in the UK, when temperatures reached 35.1°C, may have led to approximately 550 deaths. Another approximately 2,200 deaths, according to the researchers' estimates, are linked to the June heatwave, when temperatures in East Anglia exceeded 37°C.
According to Bloomberg, this year's heatwaves may have already caused nearly 10,000 deaths in the UK, France, Spain, and Germany.
The World Health Organization warns that the current extreme temperatures are merely a "dress rehearsal" for future climate change. According to Mark McCarthy, a representative of the UK Met Office, phenomena that were once considered rare are now occurring much more frequently due to global warming.