The summer of 2022 was marked by abnormally high temperatures throughout Europe: this heat wave had consequences on the environment, on agriculture, but also on the health of Europeans.
Thus, according to an estimate published on Monday, November 7, 2022 by the World Health Organization (WHO), the impressive heat waves of this summer were directly responsible for the death of 15,000 Europeans.
“Climate change is already killing us”
“Based on already published national data, it is estimated that 15,000 people died specifically from heat in 2022“said Hans Kluge, the director of the European branch of the WHO, in a press release published within the framework of the COP27 which is currently being held in Egypt.
In detail, the heat wave would have caused 4,500 additional deaths in Germany, 4,000 in Spain, 3,200 in the United Kingdom and around 1,000 in Portugal; the figures for France are not yet known. Insee, for its part, evokes an excess mortality of 11,000 people in France during the summer of 2022 compared to the summer of 2019. In the space of 50 years, according to the WHO, high temperatures would have directly caused the death of 148,000 people in Europe.
According to the UN, the European continent is the one that is warming the fastest: it has recorded a rise in temperatures more than twice the global average over the past 30 years. “Climate change is already killing us, but strong action today can prevent more deaths“says the WHO.
Source :World Health Organization (WHO)
