Deadly hot heat

Numerous sources have reported on the unusual heat that parts of the Northern Hemisphere faced these past two summers. One aspect of particular concern is that of the effects of heat on health. Recently an effort was made to quantify the deaths attributed to heat across Europe.

Epidemiological research found that nearly 62,000 people died as a result of heat exposure during the 2022 European summer. The study focused on deaths directly attributed to heat to avoid confounding the data with overall mortality figures. Most of these deaths result from heat exacerbating underlying conditions (1), and the elderly were affected by much higher heat-induced mortality rates.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-023-02419-z

To reduce the impact of heat on mortality, it is important that medical professionals who attend to patients with underlying health conditions are aware of the increased risk and recognize the symptoms of the onset of complications that come with elevated temperatures. Discussions about coping strategies and adaptation measures could help these individuals avoid some of the worst effects, and more frequent follow-up during periods of intense heat could provide an early warning to a heat-induced deterioration in health.

More broadly, anyone who is aware of at-risk individuals should make an effort to follow up more closely during hot spells. This means checking on parents, grandparents, elderly relatives, and elderly neighbors more frequently during heat waves, and ensuring they have access to resources that will help them manage through hot spells such as installing fans and climate control equipment and ensuring that transport to a climate-controlled environment is available.

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1 – Niranjan, A. (2023). ‘Heatwave last summer killed 61,000 people in Europe, research finds’, The Guardian, 10 Jul [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jul/10/heatwave-last-summer-killed-61000-people-in-europe-research-finds