A recent study on the devastating European summer of 2022 reveals that over half of heat-related fatalities across the continent could have been avoided if human-driven climate change were not a factor. The research, led by experts at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, highlights the growing toll of climate-induced heat on public health, especially among vulnerable populations. In 2022 alone, more than 68,000 people succumbed to heat-related factors in Europe, and over 38,000 of these deaths were directly attributable to elevated temperatures caused by human-induced global warming.
The study team, led by Dr Joan Ballester Claramunt, an associate research professor at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, warns that this trend will likely worsen without urgent climate action. “Without strong action, record temperatures and heat-related mortality will continue to rise in the coming years,” Dr Ballester Claramunt stated. The study findings emphasize the urgent need to mitigate climate change and implement public health strategies that can help reduce the risk of heat-related deaths.
To reach these conclusions, researchers examined “global mean surface temperature anomalies between 1880 and 2022” to determine how human activity has gradually warmed the planet. By analyzing the differences between anticipated temperatures without human interference and actual recorded temperatures, they were able to estimate how many deaths could be attributed to climate-drive.
