European Heatwaves of Summer 2022 Killed 61000

Heat-related mortality in Europe during the summer of 2022

main summary

“Heat-related mortality in Europe during the summer of 2022” – Nature Medicine.

The summer of 2022 was the hottest summer ever recorded in Europe and was characterized by an intense series of unprecedented heat waves, droughts and forest fires. Although Eurostat, the European statistical office, already reported an unusually high excess mortality for those dates, until now the fraction of mortality attributable to heat had not been quantified. This is precisely what has been done in a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a center promoted by ”la Caixa” Welfare Projects, in collaboration with the French National Institute of Health (Inserm). The analysis, published in Natural medicineestimates 61,672 deaths attributable to heat between May 30 and September 4, 2022.

The research team obtained temperature and mortality data for the period 2015-2022 for 823 regions in 35 European countries, whose total population represents more than 543 million people. These data were used to estimate epidemiological models and predict mortality attributable to temperature for each region and week of the summer period.

The summer of 2022 was a season of unrelenting heat. Records show that temperatures were warmer than average for every week of the summer term. The largest temperature anomalies were recorded during the warmest month, from mid-July to mid-August. This coincidence magnified, according to the researchers, heat-related mortality, causing 38,881 deaths between July 11 and August 14. In that period of just over a month there was an intense pan-European heat wave between July 18 and 24, to which a total of 11,637 deaths are attributed.

Most affected countries

In absolute terms, the country with the highest number of deaths attributable to heat during the entire summer of 2022 was Italy, with a total of 18,010 deaths, followed by Spain (11,324) and Germany (8,173).

If the data is ordered by heat-related mortality rate, the first country is Italy, with 295 deaths per million, followed by Greece (280), Spain (237) and Portugal (211). The European average was estimated at 114 deaths per million.

On the other hand, looking only at the temperature anomalies, the country with the warmest value was France, with +2.43°C above the average values ​​for the period 1991-2020, followed by Switzerland (+2.30°C), Italy (+2.28°C). C), Hungary (+2.13 °C) and Spain (+2.11 °C).

Table 1. The 10 European countries with the highest mortality rate (deaths per million) attributable to heat in summer 2022.

Table 2. Top 10 European countries with the highest number of deaths attributable to heat in the summer of 2022.

63% higher mortality in women

The study included an analysis by age and sex, showing a very marked increase in mortality in the older age groups, and especially in women. Thus, it is estimated that there were 4,822 deaths among those under 65 years of age, 9,226 deaths between 65 and 79 years of age, and 36,848 deaths among those over 79 years of age.

In terms of gender analysis, the data shows that heat-attributable mortality was 63% higher in women than in men, with a total of 35,406 premature deaths (145 deaths per million), compared to an estimated 21,667 deaths in men (93 deaths per million). million). This greater vulnerability of women to heat is observed in the population as a whole and, above all, in those over 80 years of age, where the mortality rate is 27% higher than that of men. In contrast, the male mortality rate is 41% higher for those under 65 and 13% higher for those 65 to 79.

Lessons from the 2003 heat wave

To date, the highest summer mortality in Europe was recorded in 2003, when more than 70,000 excess deaths were recorded.

“The summer of 2003 was an exceptionally rare event, even taking into account the anthropogenic warming observed up to then. This exceptionality revealed the lack of prevention plans and the fragility of health systems to deal with climate emergencies, something that was addressed to a certain extent in later years”, explains Joan Ballester Claramunt, first author of the study and researcher at ISGlobal, granted a grant from the European Research Council (https://www.early-adapt.eu/).

“In contrast, the temperatures recorded in the summer of 2022 cannot be considered exceptional, in the sense that they could have been predicted by following the series of temperatures of previous years, and that they show that warming has accelerated in the last decade,” Add. Ballester.

“The fact that more than 61,600 people in Europe died of heat stress in the summer of 2022, despite the fact that, unlike in 2003, many countries already had active prevention plans, suggests that currently available adaptation strategies can be still insufficient”. says Hicham Achebak, a researcher at Inserm and ISGlobal and last author of the study. “The acceleration of warming observed in the last ten years underlines the urgent need to substantially reassess and strengthen prevention plans, paying special attention to the differences between European countries and regions, as well as the age and gender gaps, which currently mark differences in vulnerability to heat,” he adds.

Europe is the continent experiencing the greatest warming, up to 1°C more than the global average. The research team’s estimates suggest that, in the absence of an effective adaptive response, the continent will face an average of more than 68,000 premature deaths each summer by 2030 and more than 94,000 by 2040.

EARLY-ADAPT project

The study was carried out in the context of the EARLY-ADAPT project (https://www.early-adapt.eu/), funded by the European Research Council, and aimed at studying how populations are adapting to the challenges of public health caused by climate change.

Reference

Joan Ballester, Marcos Quijal-Zamorano, Raúl Fernando Méndez Turribiates, Ferran Pegenaute, Xavier Basagaña, Cathryn Tonne, Josep M. Antó, Hicham Achebak. Heat-related mortality in Europe during the summer of 2022. Nature Medicine, 2023. 10.1038/s41591-023-02419-z

ISGlobal

The Barcelona Institute for Global Health, ISGlobal, is the result of an innovative alliance between Obra Social “la Caixa” and academic and governmental institutions to contribute to the efforts carried out by the international community to face the challenges of overall health. ISGlobal is a consolidated hub of excellence in research that was born from the work initiated in the healthcare world by the Hospital Clínic and the Parc de Salut MAR and in the academic field by the University of Barcelona and Pompeu Fabra University. Its work model is based on the generation of scientific knowledge through Programs and Research Groups, and its translation through the areas of Training and Analysis and Global Development. ISGlobal has been named a Severo Ochoa Center of Excellence and is a member of the CERCA system of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

Resources that provide relevant related information

Attribution/Source(s):

This peer-reviewed data/statistical analysis article related to our Disability and Climate Change section was selected for publication by the editors of Disabled World due to its potential interest to readers in our disability community. Although the content may have been edited for style, clarity, or length, the article “European heat waves of the summer of 2022 killed 61,000” was originally written by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), and published by Disabled-World.com on 2023-07-10. If you need more information or clarification, you can contact the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) at isglobal.org/es/. Disabled World makes no warranties or representations in connection therewith.

Sponsored links

Disabled World is an independent disability community established in 2004 to bring disability news and information to people with disabilities, seniors, their families and/or carers. See our home page for informative news, reviews, sports, stories and how-tos. You can also connect with us at Twitter and Facebook or get more information on our about us page.

permanent link:
European heat waves of summer 2022 killed 61,000

Cite this page (APA):
Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal). (2023, July 10). The European heat waves of the summer of 2022 killed 61,000. disabled world. Retrieved July 11, 2023 from www.disabled-world.com/disability/emergency/climate/summer-2022.php

Disabled World provides general information only. The materials presented are never intended to be a substitute for professional medical care by a qualified physician, nor should they be construed as such. Financial support is derived from advertisements or referral programs, where indicated. Any third party offers or advertisements do not constitute an endorsement.