Spain recorded 2,841 more heat-related deaths this summer due to climate change claim scientists
A study by Imperial College London, which calculated how many victims would have been saved if it were not faced with this phenomenon, placed Barcelona as the third most affected city in Europe
That heat is a mortality factor to be taken into account during the extremely hot summers of recent years is something that authorities and the public are aware of. What has so far not been calculated with relative precision is how much of this toll - mostly people who are vulnerable because of their age or health - is attributable to climate change.
A team of scientists and epidemiologists from Imperial College London has answered the question with data. Had global warming, driven by human action and the burning of fossil fuels, not intensified, Europe would have had 16,000 fewer victims this past summer. The study concluded that climate change was responsible for 68% of the estimated 24,400 heat-related deaths this summer, as temperatures rose by as much as 3.6C.
In the absence of this phenomenon, Spain would have recorded 2,841 fewer deaths out of the total of 3,893 attributed to last summer's heat. This means that 72% of these deaths recorded in Spain are a consequence of climate change. This figure is only surpassed by Italy - the country with the highest number of victims of the heatwave in Europe.
Of the 854 European cities studied, Barcelona was the third most affected, with 80% of the 786 deaths attributable to the climate crisis. It recorded a similar figure to Athens and was only surpassed by Rome (835) and Milan (1,156).
People over 65 years of age accounted for 85% of deaths, "highlighting how hotter summers are becoming increasingly deadly for Europe's already ageing population".
