German Media: 10,000 Deaths from Heat in Germany in 2018
Unprecedented heat in Germany has increased the death toll in the country. Frankfurter Allgemeine writes that experts have reported approximately 10,000 deaths caused by rising temperatures in the country in 2018.
The newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine” based on preliminary statistics received from German authorities writes that the summer months have been extremely deadly for German citizens; while the death toll in the months of July and August is relatively low and the highest mortality occurs during winter and the time of cold outbreaks.
According to the German Federal Office, in August of last year (2018) the death rate reached 14.8 percent of the total year, which has been unprecedented since 2003.
Frankfurter Allgemeine writes that experts have reported approximately 10,000 deaths caused by rising temperatures in the country in 2018.
No clear explanation for this sharp statistical increase has yet been found, but Bettina Sommer, an expert at the German Federal Statistical Office, says: “The fact that more people died in August 2018 compared to other years could be caused by severe heat.”
Nevertheless, Jürgen Kropp from the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research tells this newspaper that we cannot directly prove the relationship between the two. According to him, based on current data, it is still not possible to define a catastrophic scenario combining rising air temperatures and increased mortality.
Kropp says that heat waves have been able to increase the risk of death in elderly people, but severe heat itself has not directly led to death.
However, Andreas Matzarakis from the German Meteorological Office has a different view and believes: “The available data could be an indication that summer mortality has increased in recent years.”
He continues: “Heat periods are becoming longer and more severe, and this could be caused by climate change.”
This expert from the German Meteorological Office at the same time says that there is still not enough data to provide a definitive opinion on this matter.
The Elderly and Patients, Two High-Risk Groups
The newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine” reports that based on statistics from 15 states in Germany, the death rate increased during hot days between July 23 and August 9 last year and increased by more than 8,000 people compared to 2017.
In the summer of 2018, only in the state of Baden-Württemberg, approximately 2,000 people lost their lives due to the consequences of heat. Seven and a half percent of about 26,000 deaths in the summer months of June, July and August died due to heat.
Elderly people in particular are exposed to heat-related cardiovascular problems and physical disorders caused by dehydration.
In the summer of 2003, during heat that was unprecedented throughout the century, nearly 2,700 people lost their lives. In the summer of 2006 and 2015, approximately 2,000 people also died due to heat between the months of June and August.
Source: DW
