More than 47,000 people died in Europe due to high temperatures in 2023, with countries in the region’s south hit the hardest, according to a report by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) published on Monday.
Last year was the world’s hottest on record. As climate change continues to increase temperatures, Europeans live in the world’s fastest-warming continent, facing growing health risks stemming from intense heat.
The 2023 death toll – below the more than 60,000 heat-related deaths estimated for the previous year – would have been 80% higher without measures introduced in the past 20 years to help people adapt to rising temperatures, such as early warning systems and healthcare improvements, according to the report by the Spanish research centre.
The report comes as major wildfire raged across the northern suburbs of Athens on Monday, leaving at least one person dead and triggering multiple evacuations as swirling winds hampered the efforts of hundreds of firefighters and dozens of water-dropping planes.
“Our results show how there have been societal adaptation processes to high temperatures during the present century, which have dramatically reduced the heat-related vulnerability and mortality burden of recent summers, especially among the elderly,” said Elisa Gallo, researcher at ISGlobal and lead author of the study.
Researchers used death and temperature records from 35 European countries. They estimate that 47,690 died from causes related to high temperatures.
Adjusting the data for population, Greece, Bulgaria, Italy and Spain were the countries with the highest mortality rates related to heat.
In Greece, the fire department said shortly after midnight that firefighters found a body in a burnt building in the suburb of Vrilissia, but was unable to immediately provide further details.
The blaze started Sunday near Lake Marathon, about 35 kilometers (22 miles) northeast of Athens, coursed across Mount Pendeli and reached the capital’s northern suburbs. It burnt several homes and businesses in the city suburbs and in communities near the lake.
Greece went on high alert but by late night Monday, a drop in winds offered hope and officials reported progress against the massive, fast-moving blaze that spawned flames over 25 meters (80 feet) high.
Fire Department spokesperson Col. Vassileios Vathrakogiannis said firefighters were longer battling a single front but “many active localized blazes,” mostly around Marathon and Pendeli.
