More than 850 people have died in Spain from high temperatures, according to official figures
Find your favorites in your Independent Premium section, my profile
One photographed in Madrid last Friday.
Spain and Portugal have reported more than 1,900 deaths similar to the heat wave that has gripped Europe.
More than 850 people died in Spain from high temperatures between July 10, when temperatures reached 43°C near Seville, and July 18, according to official figures.
While the head of the Portuguese fitness authority told Reuters on Tuesday that there were more than 1,000 more deaths due to the July 7-18 heatwave.
Extreme temperatures gripped the continent with Spain and Portugal before moving north, to France and the UK, which topped 40°C for the first time, with several places surpassing the previous record of 38. 7°C measured at Cambridge in 2019.
Extreme heat is known as the silent killer and poses a specific threat to the elderly due to underlying medical conditions and to young people who have trouble regulating their temperature.
But it can also affect those who consider themselves less vulnerable. In the UK, the government declared a national heatwave emergency for the first time last week, warning that even compatible and healthy people were in danger of death.
The total number of deaths in Europe from the heatwave will take some time to settle, and countries less accustomed to excessive heat, such as the UK, will not be able to easily record excessive deaths from maximum temperatures.
This wouldn’t be the first time the heat has killed other people across Europe.
In 2003, another 15,000 people died due to high temperatures in France, with space-constrained morgues and transit centres set up on refrigerated trucks. Some 2,000 people also died in the UK and Portugal, while 3,000 died in Italy, 1,500 in the Netherlands. and three hundred in Germany.
Climate scientists have warned that heat waves in Europe will only become more frequent, longer and more severe if climate change can continue unabated.
Greenhouse gases emitted basically from burning fossil fuels are warming the planet and making those excessive temperatures more likely.
One photographed in Madrid last Friday.
Reuters
Want to bookmark your favorite articles and stories to read or refer to later? Start your Independent Premium club today.