Researchers estimated in a preliminary study that more than 15,000 deaths may be due to climate change by the end of this summer in the major European cities.
The study was conducted by researchers in the British kidneys, “Impress College London” and “London School of Hijin and Tropic Midisin”. “This study, which focused on 854 European cities, concluded that climate change is the cause of 68% of the 24 thousand and 400 deaths, which are linked to free this summer,” said a report issued on Wednesday.
This study is the first large -scale estimate of the health consequences of a chapter characterized by a sharp rise in temperatures in Europe, which has witnessed many of its countries, the most free ever, including Spain, Portugal and the United Kingdom.
The health consequences of severe free include aggravation of cardiovascular problems, dehydration and sleep disorders, leading to the risk of death.
However, these numbers must be dealt with cautious, as this type of studies that have increased in recent years aims to provide a quick estimate of the average mortality associated with climate warming without waiting for official publications in a scientific journal with a more accurate methodology.
To accomplish this study, the researchers first put a model for the extent to which climate warming contributed to the high temperatures this summer, and they concluded that had it not been for climate change, the medium temperatures in the cities included in the study would have been 2.2 degrees Celsius.
Then they compared their conclusions with previous data on heat -related deaths in different cities. They found that climate warming contributed to the death of more than 800 people in Rome, more than 600 in Athens, and more than 400 in Paris, for example. In general, more than 85% of these deaths were due to people over the age of 65.
Many researchers praised the study and considered them valid, and said that the actual numbers may be up to the highest.