The three heatwaves have seen temperature records broken in several countries across Europe and have caused thousands of excess deaths, according to estimates in Belgium, Britain, France and Spain.
Officials in Spain raised the death toll from the wildfires in southern Spain to 13. They said that a 93-year-old British woman – who had been admitted to a hospital in Almeria suffering injuries sustained in a Los Gallardos forest fire – had died that afternoon.
At least 2700 people died in England and Wales as a result of heatwaves that struck in May and June, according to a study released today.
Experts from Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine used weather data, climate models and studies on excess mortality during heatwaves to arrive at their estimate.
The UK and most of Europe experienced two unprecedented heatwaves in May and June, with monthly records set at 35.1C and 37.7C respectively, in England.
Mark McCarthy, science manager of the Met’s climate attribution team, said: “They were extreme heatwaves for the UK, and for all parts of western Europe, and they’re particularly exceptional for the timing and how early in the year they occurred.”
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) will publish its official estimate of heat-related deaths in the coming weeks, based on death records from recent heatwaves.
Lea Berrang Ford, head of UKHSA’s Centre for Climate and Health Security, said the models in the study released today “help illustrate the scale of risk associated with extreme heat and the growing threat climate change poses to our wellbeing”.
The study estimates that around 550 people died as a result of the heat between May 21 and 29, and nearly 2200 died between June 18 and 28 in England and Wales.
The authors emphasised the role of climate change, which was making heatwaves more intense and frequent.
They estimate that maximum daytime temperatures were 3C to 4C higher than they would have been without global warming.
The Climate Change Committee (CCC), the body responsible for advising the government on climate change, warned last year that the UK was “not ready” to deal with the consequences of climate change.
In a report published in May, it estimated that 92% of British homes could be too hot by 2050, and recommended that the government set maximum temperature limits in the workplace, as well as investing in air-conditioning for public buildings such as hospitals and schools.
– AFP