Thursday, 22 August 2024

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.

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