Denmark WHO warns of rising number of heat-related deaths in Europe

In view of ever new temperature records in the world in the wake of the climate crisis and the persistent summer heat in southern Europe, the World Health Organization (WHO) is warning of the health risks of extreme heat for the European population.

The European region is the fastest warming of the six WHO regions, explained WHO Regional Director Hans Kluge in Copenhagen. The people in the 53 member states of the region were paying the highest price for this.

Estimates show that there were around 489,000 heat-related deaths worldwide every year between 2000 and 2019, including an average of around 176,000 per year in Europe. Even worse: over the past 20 years, heat-related mortality has increased by 30 percent, Kluge emphasized. In almost all countries in the region where monitoring is taking place, the number of heat-related deaths has risen.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres had recently warned that the world would have to adjust to permanently changing temperatures in summer due to the climate crisis. In view of these statements, Kluge called for communities to develop action plans to make them more resilient to heatwaves. Governments and local administrations should draw up their own heat plans or update them. The fact is that the negative health consequences of high temperatures are largely avoidable with the right measures, said Kluge. "So if we are better prepared for a hotter region, we will save many lives both now and in the future."

For the summer, Kluge also reminded us of simple behaviors that everyone can adopt to protect themselves from the heat: for example, people should avoid strenuous activities during the hottest times of the day, keep their own homes as cool as possible, drink water regularly and generally look after themselves and others.