Higher temperatures aggravated by carbon pollution killed nearly 50,000 people in Europe in 2023. The continent is getting hotter at a much faster rate than any other parts on the planet, according to a recent study published in Nature Medicine.
The number of heat-related deaths is certainly too high. But the research found that the devastating mortality rate in 2023 could have been 80% higher if people had not adapted to rising temperatures over the past 20 years.
Summers becoming hotter, longer as people burn fossil fuels
Health professionals call heat a “silent killer” because it claims far more lives than most people realise. The carbon pollution fuelled by anthropogenic activities is only exacerbating the problem and putting more lives across the globe in danger.
Summers have become hotter and longer as people burn fossil fuels – clogging the atmosphere through gases that act like a greenhouse and heat the planet. Researchers have confirmed 2023 as the hottest year on record, and 2024 is expected to soon take its place.
Cooler countries in Europe are likely to face the greatest relative rise in the number of uncomfortably hot days. But the absolute death toll is likely to continue to be greatest in southern Europe – better adapted to higher temperatures but more exposed to heat.
Climate change needs to be considered a health crisis
Scientists believe governments can keep people safe by designing cool cities housing more parks and less concrete, setting up early alert systems and strengthening healthcare systems so doctors and nurses are not pushed into overdrive as temperatures climb.
Individual actions like staying hydrated and remaining indoors also have significant effects on heat-related death tolls. It is even important to check in on older neighbours and relatives. Climate change needs to be considered a health crisis.
