Reacción a "Temperature-related deaths could rise by 50% in Europe by the end of the century"

Over the last decades we have experienced heat waves, such as those of 2003 or 2022, when more than 60,000 people lost their lives in Europe. However, cold currently kills more people than heat. This new study shows how this trend would be reversed across Europe, with the sole exception of Scandinavia. That is, with climate change we will see an increase in heatwave-induced mortality and a decrease in cold-induced mortality, so that heatwave deaths will outnumber deaths by freezing. This trend will be particularly pronounced in southern Europe, and in Spain almost 1 in 3,000 people are expected to die from heat-related deaths annually by the end of the century.

The good news is that we can adapt. Adaptation starts with relatively simple - though not free - solutions, such as installing air conditioning or installing air-conditioned spaces that serve as climatic shelters (shopping centres, swimming pools, etc.). But we must also address more complex solutions, such as increasing green spaces in cities to mitigate the urban heat island, and adapting health systems to these epidemiological changes.