Subj : Record-breaking heat in the summer of 20 To : All From : ScienceDaily Date : Mon Jul 10 2023 22:30:20 Record-breaking heat in the summer of 2022 caused more than 61,000 deaths in Europe Date: July 10, 2023 Source: Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) Summary: The summer of 2022 was the hottest summer ever recorded in Europe and was characterized by an intense series of record-breaking heat waves, droughts and forest fires. A study now estimates 61,672 heat-attributable deaths between 30 May and 4 September 2022. The research team obtained temperature and mortality data for the period 2015-2022 for 823 regions in 35 European countries, whose total population represents more than 543 million people. These data were used to estimate epidemiological models and predict temperature-attributable mortality for each region and week of the summer period. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email ========================================================================== FULL STORY ========================================================================== The summer of 2022 was the hottest summer ever recorded in Europe and was characterised by an intense series of record-breaking heat waves, droughts and forest fires. While Eurostat, the European statistical office, already reported unusually high excess mortality for those dates, until now the fraction of mortality attributable to heat had not been quantified. This is precisely what has been done in a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a centre supported by the "la Caixa" Foundation, in collaboration with the French National Institute of Health (Inserm). The analysis, published in Nature Medicine, estimates 61,672 heat-attributable deaths between 30 May and 4 September 2022. The research team obtained temperature and mortality data for the period 2015- 2022 for 823 regions in 35 European countries, whose total population represents more than 543 million people. These data were used to estimate epidemiological models and predict temperature-attributable mortality for each region and week of the summer period. The summer of 2022 was a season of unrelenting heat. Records show that temperatures were warmer-than-average during every week of the summer period. The highest temperature anomalies were recorded during the hottest month, from mid-July to mid-August. This coincidence magnified, according to the researchers, heat-related mortality, causing 38,881 deaths between 11 July and 14 August. Within that period of just over a month there was an intense pan- European heatwave between 18 and 24 July, to which a total of 11,637 deaths are attributed. Most affected countries In absolute terms, the country with the highest number of heat-attributable deaths over the entire summer of 2022 was Italy, with a total of 18,010 deaths, followed by Spain (11,324) and Germany (8,173). If the data is ordered by heat-related mortality rate, the top country is Italy, with 295 deaths per million, followed by Greece (280), Spain (237) and Portugal (211). The European average was estimated at 114 deaths per million. On the other hand, looking only at temperature anomalies, the country with warmest value was France, with +2.43DEGC above the average values for the period 1991-2020, followed by Switzerland (+2.30DEGC), Italy (+2.28DEGC), Hungary (+2.13DEGC) and Spain (+2.11DEGC). 63% higher mortality in women The study included an analysis by age and sex, showing a very marked increase in mortality in the older age groups, and especially in women. Thus, it is estimated that there were 4,822 deaths among those under 65, 9,226 deaths among those between 65 and 79, and 36,848 deaths among those over 79. In terms of gender analysis, the data show that heat-attributable mortality was 63% higher in women than in men, with a total of 35,406 premature deaths (145 deaths per million), compared to an estimated 21,667 deaths in men (93 deaths per million). This greater vulnerability of women to heat is observed in the population as a whole and, above all, in those over 80 years of age, where the mortality rate is 27% higher than that of men. In contrast, the male mortality rate is 41% higher in those under 65, and 13% higher in those aged 65-79. Lessons from the 2003 heatwave To date, the highest summer mortality in Europe was registered in 2003, when over 70,000 excess deaths were recorded. "The summer of 2003 was an exceptionally rare phenomenon, even when taking into account the anthropogenic warming observed until then. This exceptional nature highlighted the lack of prevention plans and the fragility of health systems to cope with climate-related emergencies, something that was to some extent addressed in subsequent years," explains Joan Ballester Claramunt, first author of the study and researcher at ISGlobal, who holds a grant from the European Research Council. "In contrast, the temperatures recorded in the summer of 2022 cannot be considered exceptional, in the sense that they could have been predicted by following the temperature series of previous years, and that they show that warming has accelerated over the last decade," adds Ballester. "The fact that more than 61,600 people in Europe died of heat stress in the summer of 2022, even though, unlike in 2003, many countries already had active prevention plans in place, suggests that the adaptation strategies currently available may still be insufficient," says Hicham Achebak, researcher at Inserm and ISGlobal and last author of the study. "The acceleration of warming observed over the last ten years underlines the urgent need to reassess and substantially strengthen prevention plans, paying particular attention to the differences between European countries and regions, as well as the age and gender gaps, which currently mark the differences in vulnerability to heat," he adds. Europe is the continent experiencing the greatest warming, up to 1DEGC more than the global average. Estimates by the research team suggest that, in the absence of an effective adaptive response, the continent will face an average of more than 68,000 premature deaths each summer by 2030 and more than 94,000 by 2040. * RELATED_TOPICS o Health_&_Medicine # Health_Policy # Today's_Healthcare # Menopause # Teen_Health o Earth_&_Climate # Weather # Global_Warming # Severe_Weather # Climate * RELATED_TERMS o Solstice o Bushfire o Climate_model o Year_Without_a_Summer o Temperature_record_of_the_past_1000_years o Population_dynamics_of_fisheries o Breaking_wave o Hurricane ========================================================================== Print Email Share ========================================================================== ****** 1 ****** ***** 2 ***** **** 3 **** *** 4 *** ** 5 ** Breaking this hour ========================================================================== * Six_Foods_to_Boost_Cardiovascular_Health * Cystic_Fibrosis:_Lasting_Improvement * Artificial_Cells_Demonstrate_That_'Life_... * Advice_to_Limit_High-Fat_Dairy_Foods_Challenged * First_Snapshots_of_Fermion_Pairs * Why_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali;_No_Tigers_in_Australia * New_Route_for_Treating_Cancer:_Chromosomes * Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found:_Prehistoric_Tools * Astonishing_Secrets_of_Tunicate_Origins * Most_Distant_Active_Supermassive_Black_Hole Trending Topics this week ========================================================================== PLANTS_&_ANIMALS Endangered_Plants Botany Food EARTH_&_CLIMATE Environmental_Policy Sustainability Hazardous_Waste FOSSILS_&_RUINS Fossils Early_Mammals Early_Climate ========================================================================== Strange & Offbeat ========================================================================== PLANTS_&_ANIMALS Bees_Make_Decisions_Better_and_Faster_Than_We_Do,_for_the_Things_That_Matter_to Them These_Lollipops_Could_'Sweeten'_Diagnostic_Testing_for_Kids_and_Adults_Alike Why_There_Are_No_Kangaroos_in_Bali_(and_No_Tigers_in_Australia) EARTH_&_CLIMATE Turning_Old_Maps_Into_3D_Digital_Models_of_Lost_Neighborhoods Squash_Bugs_Are_Attracted_to_and_Eat_Each_Other's_Poop_to_Stock_Their Microbiome How_Urea_May_Have_Been_the_Gateway_to_Life FOSSILS_&_RUINS Giant_Stone_Artefacts_Found_on_Rare_Ice_Age_Site_in_Kent,_UK Fossils_Reveal_How_Ancient_Birds_Molted_Their_Feathers_--_Which_Could_Help Explain_Why_Ancestors_of_Modern_Birds_Survived_When_All_the_Other_Dinosaurs Died Apex_Predator_of_the_Cambrian_Likely_Sought_Soft_Over_Crunchy_Prey Story Source: Materials provided by Barcelona_Institute_for_Global_Health_(ISGlobal). Note: Content may be edited for style and length. ========================================================================== Journal Reference: 1. Joan Ballester, Marcos Quijal-Zamorano, Rau'l Fernando Me'ndez Turrubiates, Ferran Pegenaute, Franc,ois R. Herrmann, Jean Marie Robine, Xavier Basagan~a, Cathryn Tonne, Josep M. Anto', Hicham Achebak. Heat- related mortality in Europe during the summer of 2022. Nature Medicine, 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41591-023-02419-z ========================================================================== Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/07/230710113917.htm --- up 1 year, 19 weeks, 10 hours, 50 minutes * Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3) .