Turning Up the Heat?

In Europe, cold currently kills more people than does excess heat. Some folk have, consequently, blithely predicted that global warming will reduce European mortality rates. A study, in the journal Lancet Public Health, however, suggests the complete opposite. It finds that, whereas predicted climate change is likely to produce only a slight decline in cold-related deaths, heat stroke could kill many more Europeans (https://www.theguardian.com/society/article/2024/aug/21/heat-deaths-in-europe-may-triple-by-end-of-the-century-study-finds). This study estimates that, if global heating produces ambient temperatures 3-4 degrees Centigrade above pre-Industrial levels, European heat deaths may three times higher than at present, by 2100. These excess deaths are pedictably likely to be concentrated in Southern Europe, namely Greece; Italy and Spain.