Highlights
- Study estimates more than 2,700 heat-related deaths
- Around 42 per cent linked to human-induced warming
- Two heatwaves struck England and Wales in May and June
- UKHSA official estimate expected in coming weeks
MORE than 2,700 people may have died because of the heatwaves that hit England and Wales in May and June, according to a study released on Monday.
Researchers from Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine analysed weather data, climate models and studies on excess mortality during heatwaves to estimate the number of deaths.
"More than 2,700 people are thought to have died from heat-related causes during the May and June heatwaves in England and Wales," a statement said.
"Of those, it's estimated that 42 per cent died as a result of the extra heat caused by human-induced warming," it added.
The UK and much of Europe experienced two heatwaves in May and June, with monthly temperature records of 35.1 degree celsius and 37.7 degree celsius set in England.
"They were extreme heatwaves for the UK, and for all parts of western Europe, and they're particularly exceptional for the timing and how early in the year they occurred," Mark McCarthy, science manager of the Met Office's climate attribution team, was quoted as saying in the study.
The study estimated that around 550 people died because of the heat between May 21 and 29, while nearly 2,200 deaths were linked to the heat between June 18 and 28 in England and Wales.
The authors said climate change was making heatwaves more frequent and more intense. They estimated that maximum daytime temperatures were 3 degree celsius to 4 degree celsius higher than they would have been without global warming.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is expected to publish its official estimate of heat-related deaths in the coming weeks, based on death records from the recent heatwaves.
The study's models, "while they are not a measure of observed mortality, they help illustrate the scale of risk associated with extreme heat and the growing threat climate change poses to our wellbeing," said Lea Berrang Ford, head of UKHSA's Centre for Climate and Health Security.
Last year, the Climate Change Committee (CCC), which advises the government on climate change, warned that the UK was "not ready" to deal with the effects of climate change.
In a report published in May, the committee estimated that 92 per cent of British homes could be too hot by 2050. It recommended that the government introduce maximum workplace temperature limits and invest in air conditioning for public buildings such as hospitals and schools.
