Climate breakdown led to half of European heat deaths in 2022: Study

Climate breakdown has led to more than half of 68,000 heat-related deaths during the blazing European summer of 2022, according to a study.

Researchers from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) found 38,000 fewer people would have died from heat if humans had not clogged the atmosphere with pollutants that act like a greenhouse and bake the planet. 

Notably, the death toll is ten times more than the number of people murdered in Europe that year. 

Lead author, Thessa Beck said, "Many see climate change as a future concern. Yet our findings underscore that it is already a pressing issue.”

The scorching heat killed more women than men, more southern Europeans than northern Europeans, and more older people than younger people, according to the study. 

Also read: Greenhouse gases hit new record highs in 2023, warns UN report

The scientists knew that carbon pollution had made the heatwaves hotter, but they did not know how much it had driven up the death toll. 

They further found that 56 per cent of heat-related deaths could have been avoided if the world had not been warmed by burning fossil fuels and the destruction of nature. 

Six years ago, this number ranged between 44 per cent to 54 per cent. 

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Emily Theokritoff, a researcher at Imperial College London, said that even small increases in temperatures can have devastating impacts on public health. 

“This result makes sense – heat-related death increases rapidly as temperatures push past the limits people are acclimatized to," said Theokritoff, who was not involved in the study. 

Notably, Europe has been warming twice as fast as the rest of the planet and the doctors have warned that its hospitals are unprepared to deal with it. 

Beck noted that the dangers of extreme heat are even greater in Africa, Asia, and South America, but a lack of data has limited studies on how it affects human health. 

“A common misconception is that only extreme temperatures pose a serious risk,” she said. “However, our study, along with previous research, shows that even moderate heat can lead to heat-related deaths, particularly among more vulnerable populations.”

(With inputs from agencies)