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90,000 Europeans could die from extreme heat in 2100, according to the EEA
15,000 people died due to the excessively high temperatures in Europe during the summer of 2022
People in Spain weathered a series of brutal heatwaves this summer, leaving only isolated days of slightly cooler temperatures for weeks on end. The situation was replicated all over Europe, with the likes of Austria, Switzerland and France also reporting record highs.
Aside from the obvious discomfort and higher electricity bills these kinds of temperatures create, the European Environmental Agency (EEA) has warned this week of the deadly side of heatwaves and the dire consequences for our planet. According to the experts, if global warning continues at this rate unchecked, 90,000 people could die as a result of heatwaves in 2100.
The researchers point out that between the years 1980 and 2020, almost 130,000 Europeans have died due to excessively high temperatures. And this year alone, 15,000 deaths in Europe were attributed to the successive heatwaves experienced during the summer months.
The summers are also becoming longer, and this past October was the hottest ever recorded on the continent.
It’s not just sunstroke, dehydration and exhaustion that result in fatalities, either. Warmer temperatures cause disease-carrying insects to remain longer in Europe, greatly increasing the risk of people contracting potentially deadly illnesses like dengue fever and malaria. And recent studies in Spain have shown that mutant tiger mosquitoes are evolving that are resistant to the usual insecticides.
As if this wasn’t enough, the Mediterranean Sea reached boiling point this summer, and increasing water temperatures support a proliferation of harmful bacteria. Perhaps the best known is the Vibrio vulnificus bacterium in the Baltic Sea, which is the main cause of cholera.
The EEA report makes for uncomfortable reading, and the researchers conclude by writing that "it is necessary to implement a wide range of solutions, including effective heat action plans, greener cities, design and construction of appropriate buildings and adaptation of working hours and conditions" to prevent so many unnecessary deaths in the future.
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