Heat killed 200,000 people in Europe in just four years, says WHO

Extreme heat has claimed more than 200,000 lives across Europe over the past four years, according to the UN World Health Organisation (WHO), which warned that heatwaves are becoming an increasingly frequent and deadly public health emergency driven by climate change.

"We need a coordinated, powerful and institutional response,” said WHO Regional Director Dr Hans Kluge at the launch of the updated Heat-Health Action Plans Guidance in Berlin.

"The impacts of climate change are a clear and present danger, and its most immediate and lethal manifestation is extreme heat," said Dr Kluge. "Heat is a silent killer, but it is not an inevitable one," Kluge said at an event in Berlin to launch new guidelines on protecting lives from extreme heat.

The new guidance outlines evidence-based measures governments can take to reduce heat-related illness and deaths, including early warning systems, cooling centres, urban greening initiatives and targeted support for vulnerable populations.

Two women use fans to fight the scorching heat during a heatwave in Seville. File

Extreme heat affects especially the very old and the very young and people with heart, kidney and other diseases by causing dehydration, heatstroke and exacerbating existing conditions.

Most of the 200,000 deaths were "entirely preventable," Kluge said, and the number was "the tip of the iceberg, with millions more people being affected physically and mentally."

WHO stressed that individual actions such as staying hydrated and avoiding direct heat exposure remain important but are not sufficient to confront what it described as a growing systemic challenge.Heat-health action plans are designed to help cities and countries anticipate, prepare for and respond to periods of extreme heat in a coordinated and effective way.Europe is warming faster than any other continent, placing older people, those with pre-existing health conditions and other vulnerable groups at heightened risk."Our goal is clear and our ambition is bold: zero heat-related deaths,” Dr Kluge said.

Scientists say human-driven climate change is amplifying extremes, with weather events like heatwaves, droughts and floods becoming more intense and frequent.

Kluge said that Europe was "warming faster than any other continent."

The WHO's guidance urges authorities to put in place effective heat-warning systems and communication with vulnerable groups.

It calls for more action to reduce exposure to extreme heat through urban planning measures such as creating and maintaining more green spaces.

Other advice includes social services checking that older people stay hydrated, and changing the shifts of workers so they can avoid the midday sun.

While individual action such as staying out of the heat was important, "it is not enough to fight a systemic crisis" Kluge said, calling for a "coordinated, powerful and institutional response". In late May a swathe of western Europe saw a record-breaking early summer heatwave in what the UN's climate chief Simon Stiell called "a brutal reminder of the spiralling impacts of the climate crisis."

Authorities in Spain said last week that this year they had recorded the highest number of heat-related deaths for the month of May since 2015.

WAM / AFP