Heat Killed More Than 47,000 People in Europe Last Year

Illustration of heat temperature warning. (Wikimedia Commons/Chris Yarzab)

JAKARTA - More than 47,000 people will die from heat in Europe in 2023, with countries in the southern part of the region worst hit, according to a report from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) published Monday.

2023 is set to be the world's hottest year on record. As climate change continues to drive up temperatures, Europeans living in the world's fastest-warming continent face increasing health risks from the intense heat.

The death toll in 2023, below the more than 60,000 heat-related deaths estimated in the previous year, would be 80 percent higher if not for measures introduced in the past 20 years to help people adapt to rising temperatures, such as early warning systems and improved health services, the report from the Spanish research center said.

"Our results show how societies have adapted to high temperatures over the course of this century, dramatically reducing heat-related vulnerability and mortality burden in recent summers, especially among the elderly," said Elisa Gallo, a researcher at ISGlobal and lead author of the study, as reported by Reuters on August 13.

The researchers used mortality and temperature data from 35 European countries. They estimated that about 47,690 people died from causes related to high temperatures.

Adjusting the data for population, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy, and Spain are the countries with the highest death rates related to heat.