Spain's Health Ministry Estimates More Than 1,000 Killed In Summer Heatwave
Spain News
Published: 22 July 2022 14:56 CET
It's believed that more than 1,000 Spanish citizens have lost their lives due to the intense summer heatwave.
The country’s Carlos III Health Institute has estimated that up until this Tuesday, July 19, there had been 1,047 deaths attributed to the soaring 40c plus temperatures experienced over the past 10 days.
According to the Institutes Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo), the number of deaths due to excessive heat has been steadily increasing throughout July.
On the 10th of the month, there were 15 deaths recorded. On the 11th there were 28 fatalities, 12th (41), 13th (60), 14th (93), 15th (123) and Saturday 16th (150).
On Sunday, 17th July the numbers continued to increase with another 169 deaths, while on Monday and Tuesday, both days registered 184.
Of the 1,047 fatalities, it is estimated that 672 were older citizens of 85 years or more. 241 were in those between the ages of 75 and 84 with 88 registered in those between the ages of 65 and 74 years.
It is evident that older citizens are considerably more at risk of mortality due to the increase in temperatures.
Bea Hervella, spokesperson for the country's Meteorological Agency (AEMET) said that mortality was higher in those with respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.
Hervella said that the problem lies in the way the body's temperature regulation mechanism, which is not fully developed in younger citizens but overreacts in older people.
Paul Molina, chief of emergency services at Torrejon Hospital in Madrid said, "The consequences of heat and dehydration can affect you hours after being exposed to the heat."
In recent weeks, the temperatures have been soaring in Spain with some regions seeing temperatures of around 45c (113 Fahrenheit) sparking dozens of wildfires.
Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez stressed for citizens to “exercise extreme caution” noting that the “climate emergency was a reality”.
The extreme temperatures have engulfed much of Europe including Spain and Portugal before moving north to France and the UK.
The UK authorities declared its first national heatwave emergency recording its highest ever temperatures of around 40c breaking the previous record of 38.7c registered in Cambridge in 2019.
Scientists have warned that future heatwaves will only become more frequent with more severe temperatures if the issue of climate change is not addressed now.
Source
https://www.20minutos.es/noticia/5033105/0/sanidad-estima-que-el-calor-ha-dejado-mas-de-mil-muertos-hasta-el-martes/
https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/spain-portugal-deaths-heatwave-b2128345.html
