A record-breaking heatwave melting across England and Wales. It’s expected to cause almost 600 premature deaths, highlighting the profound health impacts that the climate crisis brings. In south-east England, thresholds for extreme heat have recently increased to 32 degrees Celsius. Climate change has increased the chances of these sweltering circumstances by a factor of 100. This is part of a larger trend—around the planet, extreme heat already kills an estimated 500,000 people per year.
In the brief weeks since this piece was originally written, 2024 has already set records for global annual temperatures. This increase is driven by anthropogenic climate change. Heatwaves, they say, are getting hotter and more intense. This trend has a direct connection to increasing global temperatures, largely caused by pollution from fossil fuels that are projected to raise temperatures by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius.
“Increases of just a degree or two can be the difference between life and death,” stated Professor Antonio Gasparrini. The dangerous heatwave we’re facing is an immediate and dangerous threat to the people most at risk. Vulnerable populations include people over 65, infants, pregnant people, and those with pre-existing health conditions.
This summer heatwave is predicted to exacerbate an existing issue: more than 10,000 people died prematurely in summer heatwaves from 2020 to 2024. If business-as-usual trends continue, the UK faces more than 10,000 heat-related deaths per year by 2050. The predicted death toll from this heatwave could widely be felt, but will likely hit hardest in London and the West Midlands.
Dr. Malcolm Mistry from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine noted, “Exposure to temperatures in the high 20s or low 30s may not seem dangerous, but they can be fatal.” He cautioned that heatwaves are often a silent killer. Most heat-related deaths are actually due to pre-existing health conditions exacerbated by the heat, not from the heat directly.
Nina Arquint, corporate solutions chief executive at Swiss Re, highlighted the increasing risk of acute heat events. “Extreme heat events are more dangerous than natural catastrophes in terms of human lives lost, yet the true cost is only starting to come to light,” she remarked.
Research indicates that as many as 80% of homes across the UK will suffer from summertime overheating. This exclusion compounds the harms of increasing temperatures. Health professionals have been and will continue to be overwhelmed as the cases from heat-related illnesses flood in. Dr. Lorna Powell stated, “We are seeing cases of heat-related illnesses rising.” She further urged action against fossil fuel use: “We must stop burning coal, oil and gas if we are to stabilize our climate and prevent scores of preventable health issues, hospital visits and deaths.”
As climate change keeps deepening, heatwaves are more lethal than ever. The current projections indicate that without immediate action to mitigate human-caused global heating, the future may hold even graver consequences for public health.