According to the WHO, heat stress, when the body is unable to cool down, is the leading cause of climate-related deaths in the European region. In addition, the World Health Organization warns that extreme temperatures can also exacerbate chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular, respiratory and cerebrovascular diseases, as well as those associated with diabetes.

Europe just had its hottest summer and hottest August on record, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. “In addition to high temperatures, we have been battling devastating wildfires across the Territory that have caused the largest carbon emissions since 2007, have polluted our air, have killed countless people – including, in many cases, first aid workers in emergency services -, they have been displaced more and have devastated large areas for several years”, they asserted from the UN health agency. The World Health Organization also anticipates – reports Europa Press – an increase in the number of those affected “as more countries report excess deaths from heat.”

For example, the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) has reported that between June 1 and August 22, 2022, more than 11,000 people died than in the same period in 2019, the last year of the Covid19 pandemic. . INSEE points out that these figures “may be explained by a heatwave that occurred in mid-July, following the initial heatwave episode in mid-June.”

Temperatures in Europe have warmed over the period 1961-2021, at an average rate of about 0.5°C per decade. It is the region that warms the fastest, according to a report presented this week by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Extreme temperatures have been responsible for the loss of more than 148,000 lives in Europe in the last 50 years. In just one year since then, at least 15,000 lives have been lost.

By 2021, high-impact weather and climate events had caused hundreds of deaths and directly affected more than half a million people. About 84% of these events are floods or hurricanes.

“The health impacts that people are now experiencing with an increase in global average temperature of 1.1°C are just an example of what we can expect if temperatures rise 2°C or more compared to pre-industrial levels.” “, they warned. “This should sound the alarm about our future under a changing climate.”

still possible
According to most experts, in the coming decades, increased exposure to and vulnerability to heat waves and other extreme weather events will lead to more illness and death, unless countries adopt truly drastic adaptation and mitigation measures to deal with change. climate.

Adaptation means making health systems and communities ready for the future. For example, heat health action plans are critical to climate change adaptation, protecting communities from heat-related deaths and diseases.

More than 20 countries in the region have heat health plans. “While this is encouraging, it is not enough. For the plan to be effective, we need strong cross-sectoral coordination and cooperation. If we are better prepared for a warmer Region, we will save many lives,” they said from the WHO.

Mitigation means going beyond preparing for the impacts of climate change and being part of the solution.

For WHO, health systems and communities must be climate-resilient, sustainable and low-carbon. “We can do our part by ensuring that climate change is fully embedded, internalized, and institutionalized in our health systems, accelerating the delivery of sustainable zero-emission healthcare to improve the health of individuals, communities and the planet,” they propose.

They also suggest advocating for mitigation policies that reduce emissions and produce a range of health and social benefits, while tackling climate change and air pollution, which are estimated to kill 550,000 people per year in Europe, out of an estimated global total of 7 million.

“At the individual and societal level, we all need to substantially reduce our carbon emissions through more sustainable models of production and consumption, and by adopting a full and rapid transition to clean and renewable energy. We have the technology, but we have to find a way to make it accessible to all countries and implemented quickly”, they conclude.