A study warns that due to climate change, the number of heat related deaths in England and Wales could be 50 times higher by the 2070s than it is now.
Researchers from University College London (UCL) have found that if global temperatures rise by 4.3 ° C, the death toll could reach as high as 34027 by then, compared to the current benchmark of 634.
As the UK is about to experience its third wave of heatwaves in just a few weeks, temperatures in many areas are expected to exceed 30 ° C. Research suggests that even under a more optimistic 1.6 ° C warming scenario, at least 3007 and 4592 people will die from heatwaves in the 2050s and 2070s, respectively. Dr. Clare Heaviside from University College London told Sky News: 'The impact of climate change on health will be enormous over the next 50 years.' 'We can mitigate its severity by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and carefully planned adaptation measures, but we must start taking action now.' The research report warns that extreme heat of 40.3 ° C occurred in the summer of 2022 in the UK, with 2985 heat related deaths recorded, which could become the 'new normal' before 2050.
The study also suggests that by the 2060s, the UK may experience an additional 21 to 32 days of high temperatures per year, and in the worst case scenario, this number could reach 64 to 73 days. Dr. Akshay Deoras from the University of Reading added, "If floods and storms are loud warnings of climate change, then extreme heat is its silent killer." "It is disproportionately deadly and often too late for people to notice. With another wave of heat waves hitting the UK, this warning is more urgent than ever." On Wednesday, the World Weather Attribution organization stated that an estimated 263 people in London have died as a result of the recent heat wave. Researchers have found that global warming has made the heatwave that swept through most parts of Europe from late June to early July more severe. Compared to a world without climate crisis, these heat waves have caused temperatures in urban areas to rise by up to 4 ° C.
This first rapid assessment of the number of deaths related to climate crisis in heatwaves found that approximately 65% of deaths in 12 cities including London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, and Rome were caused by human driven global warming. A study found that out of the estimated 2300 deaths from heatwaves, about 1500 were caused by the climate crisis - meaning that the number of deaths caused by heatwaves has doubled due to global warming.
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