The report describes major, already existing health impacts in Europe through heat-related morbidity and mortality as a result of exposure to air pollution, an increased exposure to extreme weather and climate events and an increased risk of contracting infectious diseases.
The time when people were exposed to heat waves was 1.28 billion person-days during the period 2012–2021, which can be compared with 650 million person-days for the period 2000–2009. This is a relative increase of 97 percent.
– Heat-related deaths are estimated to have increased in most of Europe. The risk is particularly great for, for example, the elderly and people suffering from a chronic disease, says Maria Nilsson, chairperson of Lancet Countdown in Europe and member of Lancet Countdown’s global steering group, at the Department of Epidemiology and Global Health at Umeå University.
– The trends show a Southern Europe that is more affected by forest fires, food insecurity, drought, mosquito- and tick-borne diseases, infectious diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites. In northern Europe, for example, there are reports of increased risks from Vibrio, which can cause bathing fever, and ticks that spread diseases such as Lyme disease and TBE, says Professor Jan Semenza at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine, one of the researchers who worked on the report.
The report reveals a lack of measures to protect citizens from the effects of climate change. Many European countries have large emissions of greenhouse gases and still give net subsidies to fossil fuels – despite knowledge of how it harms people’s health.
Urgent measures are necessary to reduce climate-impacting emissions. To meet the recommendation of the latest Global Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report of net zero emissions by 2040, emissions from Europe’s energy system would need to decrease by around three times the current rate. If the measures are implemented, there are bonus effects on health through cleaner air, better diets, reduced inequality and more liveable cities.
The report is the second indicator report from the Lancet Countdown, which tracks health and climate change trends in Europe. The interdisciplinary collaboration between 69 researchers follows developments using more than 40 indicators, and spans 42 institutions within academia and the UN. Umeå University is the only one in Sweden participating in the work, with researchers working at the Department of Epidemiology and Global Health and at the Department of Public Health and Clinical Medicine.
