06/27/2023 22:04 (act. 06/27/2023 22:04)
Not everyone tolerates high temperatures ©APA/dpa
In Spain, more than 350 people died last summer due to extreme heat. According to a report published on Tuesday by the National Statistics Institute (INE) on the causes of mortality in Spain in 2022, an increasing number of deaths were attributed to high temperatures.
According to INE, 157,580 people died in the summer months between May and August 2022 – 26,849 more than in 2019. 122 of them suffered heatstroke – 49 in 2019. INE pointed to dehydration as the cause of death for another 233, against 109 deaths in the year 2019
Many of the additional deaths are “due to previous chronic conditions” such as hypertension, diabetes and dementia, which increase the risk of death in case of extreme heat, explained INE. According to the Aemet meteorological service, 2022 was the hottest year ever recorded in Spain.
Also this year, the southern European country suffers from the first heat wave of summer. Temperatures soared to over 44 degrees in southern Spain on Monday. Authorities say two people have died as a result of the heat.
On Saturday, a 47-year-old man with heat stroke collapsed while working in fields in the small town of Aznalcollar, near Seville. Another farmer died on Monday of heatstroke while working in his vineyard in Cinco Casas, a village about 100 miles south of Madrid.
On Tuesday the temperatures dropped a little, but still stayed above 40 degrees in some places. According to Aemet, the heat should last until Thursday.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, Europe is facing increasing deadly heatwaves due to global warming. According to experts, Spain is probably one of the countries most affected by climate change. Although the southern European country has become accustomed to high summer temperatures, heat waves are increasing, lasting longer and accompanied by higher temperatures – and with less and less precipitation.