Interactive heatwave risk map reveals Europe's most vulnerable

Scientists have created an interactive map of Europe that shows the level of life-threatening risks due to extreme heat. Not everyone is equally at risk.

Four people died this week in Italy due to extreme heat, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Rome. Last month, scorching weather killed six tourists in Greece, and experts predict another record-hot year due to climate change. However, it may be difficult to assess how dangerous heatwaves are.

The new tool tries to fill this gap by predicting the likelihood of death during heatwaves in different places in Europe. The data is based on age and gender and launched on July 16th, forecaster. Health is the first pan-European, publicly accessible platform for predicting the mortality risk related to temperatures for different demographic groups.

Scientists from the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) report that around 70,000 people died from heat-related causes in Europe in the summer of 2022. The same team used past mortality data and weather forecasts to create a first-of-its-kind tool to help save lives.

Joan Ballester Claramunt, a scientist at ISGlobal, noted: "Until now, temperature warnings have been solely based on the physical information of weather forecasts, and therefore, they ignore the differences in vulnerability to heat and cold among population groups." The scientists' system from Barcelona changes this paradigm, shifting the focus from meteorology to epidemiology – the study of diseases and other public health issues.

Many factors affect our vulnerability to adverse heat effects, including gender and age. Marcos Quijal-Zamorano, a researcher at ISGlobal and one of the authors of the system, explained: "We know, for example, that women are more susceptible to heat than men and that the risk of death for both heat and cold increases with age." In turn, Ballester told Euronews Green: "I'm not 100 percent sure that all old women are aware that they have more risk than men. And maybe if they knew it, they might change things."

The scientist explained that many factors behind this phenomenon exist. Socioeconomics provides some answers. Women typically have lower salaries and, therefore, have fewer resources, such as air conditioning, to protect themselves. They are also more likely to be widows, making it more likely they live alone and are isolated from help.