“High temperatures are becoming increasingly deadly,” reported the Spanish newspaper El Independiente on the 14th. According to official data, the heatwave from May 16th to July 13th this year has claimed the lives of 1,180 people in Spain. Compared with 114 deaths in the same period last year, the heat – related mortality rate has soared by 1035%. The Spanish Ministry of Health stated that the country is experiencing “abnormal high temperatures”, with “unprecedented increases in average temperatures leading to a surge in the mortality rate due to heat”.
Data from the Spanish State Meteorological Agency shows that the average monthly temperature in this southern European country in June was 23.6 degrees Celsius, 0.8 degrees Celsius higher than the previous historical record set in June 2017. It is expected that the temperature in July will continue to break the historical record. The Spanish Ministry of Health reported that the number of heat – related deaths in the first week of July was 47% higher than the total number of heat – related deaths in June, a worrying trend. At the end of June, many Spanish cities witnessed high temperatures of 44 degrees Celsius. In addition, a small town in the Andalusia Autonomous Community recorded a temperature as high as 46 degrees Celsius on June 28th.
The daily mortality monitoring system of the Carlos III Health Institute in Spain revealed that in the past two months, various regions of Spain have recorded 76 red – level warnings for extreme high temperatures, while no such highest – level warnings were activated during the same period last year. Among the 1,180 people who died from the heat, 95% were over 65 years old, and about 60% were women. Surprisingly, the northern region of Spain had a higher number of heat – related deaths. Experts explained that this is because the region has a historically cool summer, so its response ability and social adaptation level to extreme high temperatures are relatively low.
Spain is not the only country affected. Many European countries and cities also experienced record – high temperatures in June. A small town in eastern Portugal reached a temperature of 46.6 degrees Celsius on June 29th. A report recently released by Imperial College London in collaboration with the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine stated that high temperatures have become a “silent killer” in Europe.
According to Reuters, the above – mentioned institutions monitored and analyzed 12 European cities, including Barcelona, Madrid, London, and Milan, from June 23rd to July 2nd, and estimated that about 2,300 people died due to high temperatures. The report emphasized that many heat – related deaths were not simply due to heatstroke, but mostly due to the aggravation of pre – existing diseases, which led to organ failure.
According to the Spanish newspaper El País, people’s adaptability to high temperatures is closely related to socio – economic development. Over the past 40 years, with the continuous improvement of the healthcare system and the increase in residents’ income, the air – conditioner ownership rate in Spanish households has increased from 5% to about 35%, reducing the number of heat – related deaths by one – third. However, “air – conditioners cannot benefit all people equally”. Groups with lower socio – economic status are more affected by high temperatures, and outdoor workers are also facing the threat of high temperatures.
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