It goes without saying that Europe has been experiencing a concerning rate of heat waves this summer as the globe continues to endure the ever-pressing climate crisis. These heatwaves have unfortunately led to thousands of heat-related deaths across various European countries such as Spain, Portugal, Germany and United Kingdom.

WHO Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge had this to say in a statement: “This year, we have already witnessed more than 1,700 needless deaths in the present heat wave in Spain and Portugal alone,”

The World Health Organization unfortunately believe that the figure would “increase further over the coming days.”

Forest fires occurring around Europe especially in Spain and Portugal are also not helping with Kluge saying “Climate change is not new. Its consequences, however, are mounting season after season, year after year, with disastrous outcomes,”

In Germany alone this month there have been 3,000 excess deaths. Excess deaths mean deaths that occur due to something external meaning not all of these deaths will be heat-related.  Stefan Muthers from the German Weather Service’s center for medical and meteorological research had this to say “the problem is that unlike with [coronavirus], heat is not recorded as a factor in a person’s death.

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