Heat Claimed More than 200,000 Lives in Europe Since 2022: WHO
The second edition urges governments to use cooling centers, shade and social services as Europe faces heat deaths that were nearly all preventable.
- On Thursday, the World Health Organization published its updated Heat Health Action Plans Guidance, offering governments recommendations to improve heat responses and prevention.
- Heat has caused over 200,000 deaths across Europe in the last four years, a toll Hans Henri Kluge, the WHO's Europe director, called "the tip of the iceberg." He noted Europe is "warming faster than any other continent."
- Federal Environment Minister Carsten Schneider noted that residents in overheated, concrete-covered urban districts lack protection. The WHO guidance urges authorities to implement heat-warning systems, create cooling centers, and train staff to recognize heat-related illness signs.
- Most premature deaths occurred in Italy, followed by Spain, Germany, and Greece. Kluge stressed that while individual actions help, most of these 200,000 fatalities were "entirely preventable" through systemic institutional changes.
- Rising global temperatures, rapid urbanization, and demographic aging are increasing heat vulnerability across Europe. These trends drive a growing, unevenly distributed burden of heat-related illness, necessitating effective prevention and preparedness.
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Heat claimed more than 200,000 lives in Europe since 2022: WHO
More than 200,000 lives have been lost to the "silent killer" of heat in Europe since 2022, the World Health Organization said Thursday, after a heat wave saw some countries record their highest-ever May temperatures.
The World Health Organization (WHO) warns that Europe needs to better protect its citizens from extreme heat as it is warming faster than any other continent.
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lrytas.ltAfter a heatwave in May saw some countries record their highest temperatures for the month, the World Health Organization said on Thursday that the "silent killer" - heat - has killed more than 200,000 people in Europe since 2022.
The World Health Organization is making a sound of alarms about the health consequences of heat waves this Thursday. Especially since, according to the WHO, most of these deaths were "fully preventable". The organisation calls on countries to follow its recommendations in order to better cope with these increasingly intense episodes due to climate change. - "The heat is a silent killer": the heat waves have caused more than 200,000 deaths in Eur…
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