Okay so this piece contains a map of fatalities from: drought, wildfire, storm, landslide and flood.
What happened to "heat"?
Last year #heatwaves killed nearly 62,000 in #Europe.
Erasing heat deaths in #Africa is - shall we be charitable - irresponsible at best.
https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-africas-extreme-weather-have-killed-at-least-15000-people-in-2023/
The method to count #HeatDeaths needs to be improved everywhere.
"Currently, about the only consistency in counting #HeatDeaths in the U.S. is that officials and climate specialists acknowledge fatalities are grossly undercounted."
#ExtremeHeat
https://apnews.com/article/counting-extreme-heat-deaths-7125ad9a5289625bd9ca312945996399
Death certificates don’t always reflect the role that extreme heat played in ending a person’s life even when it seems obvious it was a factor. Experts say a mishmash of ways more than 3,000 counties calculate heat deaths means we don’t really know how many people die in the U.S. each year because of high temperatures in an ever warming world. That imprecision harms efforts to better protect people from extreme heat because officials who set policies and fund programs can’t get the financial and other support needed to make a difference. Some experts believe counting excess deaths could help.
"Global #HeatDeaths are projected to increase by 370% if action is not taken to limit the effects of #GlobalWarming, according to a study published Tuesday in The Lancet, a medical journal.
It found that human-caused #ClimateChange is making health-threatening temperatures more frequent, especially in the #US."
"The eighth annual Lancet Countdown, an international analysis that tracks nearly 50 different health-focused issues affected by climate change, calls for an immediate wind-down of #FossilFuel use.
The #LancetCountdown details staggering economic costs that stem from #ClimateChange.
Solutions to climate change can improve global health."
E.g. quitting the burning of fossil fuels reduces deadly #AirPollution.
"The dangers of #ExtremeHeat have become a matter of grave concern in #Europe since devastating heat waves in 2003 killed more than 71,000 people. Another heat wave that hit Moscow and western #Russia in the summer of 2010 led to more than 55,000 #HeatDeaths."
https://www.courthousenews.com/heat-related-death-toll-in-2022-europe-revised-to-more-than-70000/
"More than 150,000 people per year are estimated to have died from heatwaves around the globe and the new study reveals regional disparities in #heatwave deaths."
https://scitechdaily.com/heatwaves-responsible-for-150000-deaths-annually/
More than 150,000 people per year are estimated to have died from heatwaves around the globe and the new study reveals regional disparities in heatwave deaths. Between 1990 and 2019, more than 150,000 deaths around the globe were associated with heatwaves each year, according to a new study publi
These global maps of heat deaths, heat death ratio, and heat death rates brings home how many of the deaths due to #ExtremeHeat go unreported in English-language media.
https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1004364
"Regardless of where or when a #heatwave strikes, one pattern has been a constant: Older adults are the most likely to die from #ExtremeHeat, and the crisis is worsening.
We study #ClimateChange and population #aging. Our research documents two global trends that together portend a dire future."
"Many vulnerable people in South Asia are already struggling to protect themselves from unbearably high temperatures – which are set to worsen
The humid tropics are all careening towards the 35°C threshold. The city of Jacobabad [#Pakistan] has already breached 35°C #WetBulb temperatures many times. More areas of the country are likely to be exposed to such life-threatening conditions more often due to #ClimateChange. "
https://www.climatechangenews.com/2024/05/30/developing-countries-need-support-adapting-to-deadly-heat/
#HeatDeaths
"The death certificates of more than 2,300 people who died in the United States last summer mention the effects of excessive heat, the highest number in 45 years of records. With May already breaking heat records, 2024 could be even deadlier."
But
"According to an "excess death" study by Texas A&M’s Dessler and his colleague Jangho Lee, about 11,000 heat deaths likely occurred in 2023 in the U.S."
https://apnews.com/article/record-heat-deadly-climate-change-humidity-south-11de21a526e1cbe7e306c47c2f12438d
#ExtremeHeat #HeatDeaths
An Associated Press analysis of federal data shows that about 2,300 people in the United States died in the summer of 2023 with their death certificates mentioning the effects of excessive heat. That's the highest in 45 years of records. More than two dozen doctors, public health experts, meteorologists and other experts tell The AP the real death toll was higher. Coroner, hospital, ambulance and weather records show that last summer amped up America’s heat and health problem to a new level. The relentless warmth unusually killed more people in the South, which had been less prone to mass deaths.
"Older adults are one of the populations that we classically see as being more vulnerable to the effects of climate change, specifically to effects of #ExtremeHeat.”
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/environment/2024/06/07/heat-waves-elderly/
If you don't count it, you can't work to prevent it. But #HeatDeaths are notoriously hard to count.
"#Heat is not commonly mentioned on #DeathCertificates because heat *alone* is rarely the main thing that kills people.
[In Maricopa County] they coined the term "environmental heat exposure" to encapsulate heat related factors that contributed to someone's death without necessarily being the primary driver."
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/30/nx-s1-4854224/death-heat-arizona-climate-change-medical-examiner
This is a fascinating account of the need to look beyond the boxes that you can check on a death certificate.
For instance, an unhoused person found dead with drugs in their blood didn't necessarily die of a drug overdose. Some drugs inhibit sweating, some make you more active, others make you feel the heat less so you don't take precautions.
Going to the scene of death with a thermometer needs to become a routine thing - but is not.
https://www.npr.org/2024/05/30/nx-s1-4854224/death-heat-arizona-climate-change-medical-examiner
"Officially this year, there have been 63 #HeatDeaths in Thailand, at least 143 in India, at least 172 in Mexico, and more than 1,300 in a single week during the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia. But unofficially, these numbers are a fraction of heat’s true toll. They are often the most obvious cases and are much less likely to account for fatalities in which temperatures played an indirect role."
"The study covered seven #heatwaves over the last 11 years. They lasted 7 to 14 days and affected 1.5 million to 34.2 million people.
The events resulted in 460 official deaths — though the figure could be as high as almost 4,000 — as well as 5,000 hospitalizations, 10,600 emergency room visits, 138,000 outpatient visits, and 344 adverse birth outcomes. They cost the state $7.7 billion in lost wages, manufacturing and agricultural productivity, power outages, and more."
https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/california-heat-waves-impact-health-insurance/
A study of California's heat waves showed their effects on its citizens, economy, and infrastructure — and how the state can better handle such events.
Climate change is increasing dangerous nighttime temperatures across the globe
"Due to human-caused climate change, 2.4 billion people experienced an average of at least 2 additional weeks per year where nighttime temperatures exceeded 25°C.
These temperatures prevent the body from recovering from daytime heat, increase the risk of illness and mortality, and disrupt sleep."
https://www.climatecentral.org/report/dangerous-nighttime-temperatures-2024
Can chief heat officers protect US cities from #ExtremeHeat?
"It’s a searing irony: America’s #ChiefHeatOfficers, and the other types of officers who also work on heat issues, hold the key to protecting communities from rising temperatures, but there is absolutely no guarantee that mayors, governors, and lawmakers will listen. And, in most cases, their funding depends on the political priorities of the party in power."
https://grist.org/extreme-heat/chief-heat-officers-protect-us-cities-extreme-heat/
In El Paso, a Migrant Death Crisis Emerges amid Extreme Heat
"As an emergency physician, I see the cost of climate change and border militarization first-hand—ice-filled body bags and all."
When heat turns deadly
"A world-first study challenges our understanding of how humans cope with #ExtremeHeat."
The #WetBulb temperature of 35C serves as an indication of when heat turns deadly for humans, but it doesn't work as well at very high temperatures.
Heatwaves loom as a growing threat to humanity in a warming climate. This summer alone, in the northern hemisphere, thousands have died during extreme heat events. It's driving researchers to find out more about the point when heat turns deadly.
This experiment was really necessary, and its results do not bode well for older people on a heating planet. If you compare the two graphs you can see why it is that especially older people die in a #heatwave.
Do read the whole article, a great in-plain-English explanation of the science of human heat resilience.
Heatwaves loom as a growing threat to humanity in a warming climate. This summer alone, in the northern hemisphere, thousands have died during extreme heat events. It's driving researchers to find out more about the point when heat turns deadly.
"#ClimateChange is now having such a profound impact on our health, medical programs are changing the way they teach about it.
Lemery said #MedicalProfessionals need to understand what's happening to the environment and how that might be affecting their patients."
They died with the AC off: Why the government pays for heating but not cooling
Most people die of heat-related causes inside their home [62%]. Only 29 percent occurred outdoors. Nine percent were in automobiles.
People who die from heat-related causes at home fall into two categories — those who weren’t using their air conditioner and those who didn’t have one."
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/15/extreme-heat-deaths-government-agencies-00176697
"The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program has given Arizona $91 per person since 2001, an E&E News analysis shows. No state has received less money.
Vermont, the best-funded state, has received $921 per resident."
"The program favors states with the highest heating costs by allocating funds based largely on how often and how far temperatures drop below 65 F."
Time to add aid that kicks in at high temperatures.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09/15/extreme-heat-deaths-government-agencies-00176697
‘#EnergyPoverty’ hits US residents more in the South and Southwest, study finds
"Federal financial assistance is allocated based on rules written in the 1980s and disproportionately provides aid to Northern states, which historically have had high heating bills.
In the decades since, populations have shifted, temperatures have risen, and energy needs have evolved. Researchers propose a solution that recognizes the cost of #AirConditioning in a warming South."
"We compared projected heat mortality with COVID-19 deaths in 38 cities worldwide and found that in half of these cities, heat-related deaths could exceed annual COVID-19 deaths in less than ten years (at + 3.0 °C increase in global warming relative to preindustrial). In seven of these cities, heat mortality could exceed COVID-19 deaths in less than five years."
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-024-82788-8
#HeatDeaths
The impacts of climate change on human health are often underestimated or perceived to be in a distant future. Here, we present the projected impacts of climate change in the context of COVID-19, a recent human health catastrophe. We compared projected heat mortality with COVID-19 deaths in 38 cities worldwide and found that in half of these cities, heat-related deaths could exceed annual COVID-19 deaths in less than ten years (at + 3.0 °C increase in global warming relative to preindustrial). In seven of these cities, heat mortality could exceed COVID-19 deaths in less than five years. Our results underscore the crucial need for climate action and for the integration of climate change into public health discourse and policy.
Dangerous temperatures could kill 50% more #Europeans by 2100, study finds
"The researchers estimated an extra 8,000 people would die each year as a result of “suboptimal temperatures” even under the most optimistic scenario for cutting planet-heating pollution. The hottest plausible scenario they considered showed a net increase of 80,000 temperature-related deaths a year."
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jan/27/dangerous-temperatures-kill-50-percent-more-europeans-end-century-climate
#ExtremeHeat
"In analyzing data for more than 2000 suburbs, we found city dwellers with low income, low education, diabetes and limited access to health services, were at the highest risk of heat wave related deaths.
"This was the case for all of Australia's capital cities, which are home to 70% of #Australia's population."
https://phys.org/news/2025-02-mortality-reveal-climate-impacts-cities.html
#HeatDeaths
Mortality rates during heat waves have been put in the spotlight with research from The University of Queensland showing a 20% increase in heat wave-related deaths due to human-induced climate change. Another UQ study has also revealed people living in cities are at a higher risk of dying from heat waves than in regional areas.
"While previous studies have documented the direct effects of heat on morbidity and mortality, our research highlights a crucial but thus far overlooked spillover effect: the way heat-driven hospital congestion exacerbates health risks, even for patients whose conditions are unrelated to temperature exposure."
https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/extreme-heat-hospital-crowding-and-hidden-health-costs-climate-change
#ExtremeHeat #HeatDeaths
As extreme heat events become more frequent and severe, rising temperatures will increase the incidence of heatstroke, kidney damage, and cardiovascular stress. This column considers extreme heat as not only a direct health threat, but also a systems-level shock that will expose and exacerbate existing vulnerabilities in healthcare delivery. To prepare for a future of acute heatwaves, policymakers and healthcare leaders must ensure that hospitals operate effectively during these crises. Addressing the indirect effects of climate change is an essential component of broader climate adaptation efforts.
"If we fail to keep global warming below 2°C in the future, the area of our planet that will become too hot even for healthy humans would approximately triple to 6%. The area of land that will be unsuitable for those over 60 would also increase to about 35%. "
https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/environment/climate-change-is-causing-more-parts-of-the-planet-to-be-too-hot/
#ExtremeHeat
WE DON"T KNOW how hot it gets,
and how many people die from that heat.
"There has been a rapid and catastrophic decline in the number of weather stations measuring conditions across Africa.
This is to say nothing of weather radar stations, which observe and forecast weather patterns and are essential for early warnings. In the US and Europe, where 1.1 billion people live, there are 565 weather stations, while in Africa, where 1.5 billion live, there are 33."
"As for heat deaths, the epidemiologist Prof Kristie Ebi points out that even in the US the official estimate, of about 1,200 a year, “is probably at least a tenfold undercount”. The great majority are recorded as heart attacks, kidney failure or other conditions. But epidemiological data show how deaths spike during heatwaves. Heaven knows how much underreporting there may be in countries with much sparser records."
"Official data frequently underestimates heat-related deaths. Heat stress, dehydration, heart failure, and worsened respiratory problems are frequently cited as secondary causes of death. Heatwaves kill by continuous exposure, unlike floods or cyclones, which cause evident physical damage. This makes identification difficult and accountability spread."
"Graham Readfearn enters a simulation to investigate how heatwaves affect the human body."
He's brave.
"According to the medical journal the Lancet, heat extremes caused an estimated 546,000 deaths every year between 2012 and 2021 – a 63% rise on rates seen in the 1990s."
“And the really important thing to keep in mind is that every heat related death is preventable.”
"In India and Pakistan, pre-monsoon temperatures regularly rise above 50°C, and heat-related mortality in the region exceeds 200,000 deaths per year. Extreme heat [also] undermines economic stability and productivity.
Addressing extreme heat requires coordinated, transdisciplinary action. This integrated effort equips governments, public services, communities, and health systems with the actionable knowledge they need to prevent avoidable illness and save lives. "
https://wmo.int/media/news/new-initiatives-launched-address-extreme-heat-south-asia
At Mumbai Climate Week, the WMO-WHO Climate and Health Joint Programme, The Rockefeller Foundation, and Wellcome announced two new integrated initiatives to protect South Asians from extreme heat – a rapidly escalating threat to human health and economic stability in the subcontinent. “Few regions feel the impacts of extreme heat as sharply as South Asia, and I welcome the clear determination to respond. We all know that every death primarily due to excess heat can be prevented and heat health action plans are saving lives,” said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
"New research shows rising temperatures could save lives in high-latitude countries but cause hundreds of thousands of additional deaths annually in low-income regions, highlighting need for targeted adaptation investment where risks are greatest.
The supply of adaptation finance will fall far short of the scale of adaptation investment needs."
https://www.eco-business.com/news/heat-inequality-climate-driving-mortality-in-poor-nations-cutting-deaths-in-rich-
#HeatDeaths
CelloMom On Cars
