The summer of 2023 was one of the hottest ever in Europe.
According to recent research by Elisa Gallo and her team at ISGlobal in Barcelona, Spain, the heat contributed to more than 47,000 deaths across the continent.
Gallo: “The main countries that were affected by heat were the southern countries in Europe, especially Spain, Portugal, Cyprus, Bulgaria, Italy, and Greece.”
She says the massive death toll could have been even higher if not for steps that societies and individuals have taken over the past couple decades to protect people and adapt to the heat.
For example, the use of home air conditioning has increased, and some countries have implemented heat wave alert systems.
Gallo’s research models show that if the same temperatures had occurred about 20 years ago, 80% more people would have died.
Gallo: “In the last years, we worked to better adapt to climate change … but this is not enough. … The temperature is increasing at twice the rate in Europe compared to the global average.”
As extreme heat waves get more common in a warming world, she says it will be important to do more to protect vulnerable people – and to tackle the root cause of the problem by reducing global warming carbon pollution.
Reporting credit: Sarah Kennedy / ChavoBart Digital Media
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