Harsh temperatures in Europe resulted in over 47,000 deaths in 2023, the warmest year on record globally and the second warmest in Europe, reported a study published in Nature Medicine on Monday.
According to a study by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, 47,690 deaths across 35 European countries were estimated in 2023, of which 47,312 occurred between May 29 and Oct. 1.
The study revealed that the highest heat-related mortality was found in Southern Europe, with Greece reporting 393 deaths per million, Bulgaria 229, Italy 209, and Spain 175.
Moreover, the heat-related mortality rate was 55 percent higher in women than in men and 768 percent higher in people over 80 years of age than in people aged between 65 and 79 years.
The researchers cautioned that these numbers may underestimate the heat-related mortality burden. Due to the unavailability of daily, homogeneous mortality records during the year 2023, they had to use weekly counts of deaths from Eurostat, the EU’s statistical office.
This study analyzed publicly available death records from 823 regions in 35 European countries, encompassing approximately 543 million people.
The paper further pointed out that heat-related mortality would have been 80 percent higher had people not adapted to rising temperatures over the last two decades. What’s worse, the death toll of people over 80 years of age would have doubled.
“Our results show how there have been societal adaptation processes to high temperatures during the present century, which have dramatically reduced the heat-related vulnerability and mortality burden of recent summers, especially among the elderly,” said Elisa Gallo, a postdoctoral researcher at the Barcelona Institute of Global Health and the author of the study.
The social adaptation process has improved thanks to the advancements in healthcare, increased access to air conditioning, and effective public awareness campaigns promoting indoor activities and hydration during heatwaves.
In fact, for almost half of 2023, the temperature globally exceeded the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold set by the Paris Agreement, and Europe warmed up at a rate twice the worldwide average.
That’s not all. Climate projections indicate that the threshold is likely to be breached before 2027, leaving the world with a tiny window of opportunity to act.
