About 129,000 Europeans died from the effects of the heat wave between 1980 and 2020, with an acceleration in mortality in recent years.
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If nothing is done to prevent it, 90,000 Europeans could die each year from heat waves by the end of the century in the greatest climate-related health threat, the European Agency warned on Wednesday 8 November. of the environment (EEA). “Without adaptation measures, and under a scenario of global warming of 3°C by 2100, 90,000 Europeans could die from heat waves each year”noted the EEA.
With a warming of 1.5°C targeted by the Paris agreement, this figure is reduced to 30,000 deaths per year, underlines the EEA, based on a study published in 2020. Between 1980 and 2020, some 129,000 Europeans died of heat, according to the figures, with a strong acceleration during the recent period.
The combination of more frequent heat waves, an aging population and increased urbanization makes Europeans more vulnerable to high temperatures, especially in the south of the continent, underlines the European agency.
On Monday, the European office of the World Health Organization (WHO) announced that at least 15,000 deaths in Europe were directly linked to severe heat waves during the summer of 2022. In addition to repeated heat waves, climate change makes the region increasingly prone to the emergence and transmission of infectious diseases.