Over ۴۰,۰۰۰ more people died on the hottest days in England between ۱۹۸۸ and ۲۰۲۵ than would be expected, according to data published by the Office for National Statistics on Wednesday.
The figures do not include this summer, when England has sweltered under a succession of heatwaves and is on track to record its highest ever number of heat-related deaths. The UK Health Security Agency announced on ۳۰ July that an estimated ۲,۸۷۷ people had died in the May and June heatwaves alone. The total is almost double the figure for the whole summer in ۲۰۲۵.
The number of people dying prematurely due to high temperatures is expected to rise further as the climate crisis caused by the burning of fossil fuels continues to push up temperatures and the population ages. Elderly people, as well as children and the unwell, are particularly vulnerable to heat. The heat in ۲۰۲۷ will be further exacerbated by the super El Niño weather system now building in the Pacific Ocean.
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Emergency departments in England’s hospitals have experienced their busiest period ever this summer, with almost ۲.۵ million patients attending A&E each month in May, June and July and the heat cited as a main reason. Nurses were collapsing during shifts amid “inhumane and impossible” conditions caused by extreme heat, their union warned earlier in August.
London had the highest number of deaths attributable to the hottest temperatures, the ONS said. The London ambulance service has dealt with ۲۵,۰۰۰ more calls this summer than last, surpassing the record number seen during the peak of the Covid-۱۹ pandemic.
Historically, more deaths in England were associated with the coldest temperatures than the hottest. There were ۱۳۹,۰۰۰ deaths associated with the coldest days between ۱۹۸۸ and ۲۰۲۵, according to the ONS data. However, the agency said: “The proportion of deaths associated with the hottest days has increased in recent years, and the gap between heat- and cold-related deaths is narrowing.”
In continental Europe, at least ۳۵,۰۰۰ more people died during the baking-hot summer than would normally be expected, according to figures available so far from barely half the continent.
The heatwave that scorched western Europe in late June was the most severe and widespread ever recorded and was only possible due to the climate crisis driven by fossil fuel burning, scientists found. The World Health Organization said in May that heat-related mortality in its European region had increased by more than ۳۰% over the past ۲۰ years.
Rising global heat kills one person a minute around the world, according to a major report published by the Lancet in October.
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