STUDY: 47,690 people died in Europe last year due to heat

(Patria) - Experts estimate that more than 47,000 people died from the effects of high temperatures in Europe in 2023, the hottest year on record. This figure was published in a modeling study published in the journal Natural Medicine. However, an international research group led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health also concluded that society has adapted to high temperatures.

The team used Eurostat data on 96 million deaths to estimate how many in 2023 were related to heat in 823 regions, or 35 European countries.

According to estimates, 47,690 deaths in Europe last year were related to high temperatures. This is the second highest mortality rate since such measurements began in 2015. The highest rate was recorded in 2022.

Researchers found that countries in Southern Europe have the highest mortality rate due to heat. Greece (393 deaths per million inhabitants), Bulgaria (229), Italy (209), and Spain (175) took the top four spots in the assessment. For comparison, the rate in Germany was 76 deaths per million inhabitants in 2023.

In concrete numbers, the research group estimates that in 2023, the number of heat-related deaths in Italy was less than 12,750, and in Germany 6,376.