Did climate change cause 16,500 extra deaths in Europe this summer?

"This summer was one of the hottest on record in Europe, with temperatures soaring above 46 degrees Celsius (114 degrees Fahrenheit), triggering wildfires and causing the deaths of thousands of people, particularly among the elderly. Climate change is likely to be responsible for 68 percent, or about 16,500, of additional heat-related deaths, according to new research from the Grantham Institute Climate Change and the Environment in London, United Kingdom."

"Four times as much land area as the usual annual average was burned in Spain at 380,000 hectares (940,000 acres) more than five times the size of Singapore. In Portugal, 280,000 hectares (690,000 acres) of land was burned larger than the area of the country of Luxembourg and two-and-a-half times the annual average. Intense wildfires were also reported in France, Italy, Greece, Albania and Turkiye this year."

"But Spain bore the brunt of the heat this year with more than 1,100 deaths blamed on a 16-day heatwave in August, according to the Madrid-based Carlos III Health Institute. Elderly people with underlying health conditions were particularly vulnerable to overheating of indoor environments, the study found. The Grantham Institute study, which examined 854 European cities, found that the average rise in temperature by approximately 3.6C (6.48F) was responsible for 68 percent of the 24,400 estimated heat-related deaths this summer."

Europe experienced one of its hottest summers with temperatures exceeding 46°C, triggering widespread wildfires and causing thousands of deaths, especially among elderly people. Spain recorded over 1,100 deaths during a 16-day August heatwave, while indoor overheating posed acute risks for older people with underlying health conditions. Wildfires burned 380,000 hectares in Spain and 280,000 hectares in Portugal, vastly above annual averages, with intense blazes also in France, Italy, Greece, Albania and Turkiye. An analysis of 854 European cities linked an average temperature rise of about 3.6°C to 68% of approximately 24,400 estimated heat-related deaths this summer, equating to roughly 16,500 deaths attributable to human-caused climate change.

Read at www.aljazeera.com