猛暑のため欧州で１万５０００人死亡　ＷＨＯ

【コペンハーゲンＡＦＰ＝時事】世界保健機関（ＷＨＯ）は７日、今年の猛暑により、欧州で少なくとも１万５０００人が死亡したとの集計を公表した。特にスペインとドイツの死者が多かったとしている。（資料写真）
　今年６～８月は、観測史上、欧州で最も暑い３か月間となった。その結果、欧州は中世以来で最悪の干ばつに見舞われた。
　ＷＨＯのハンス・クルーゲ欧州地域事務局長は「これまでに各国から提出されたデータに基づけば、２０２２年は特に高温により少なくとも推定１万５０００人が死亡した」と述べた。
　クルーゲ氏によると、今夏の３か月間でドイツで約４５００人、スペインで４０００人近く、英国で３２００人超、ポルトガルで１０００人超の死亡が報告された。
　同氏は「報告が集まるにつれ、犠牲者数がさらに増えることが予想される」として、エジプトで開催中の国連気候変動枠組み条約第２７回締約国会議（ＣＯＰ２７）に対し、地球温暖化への早急な対応を呼び掛けた。
　ＷＨＯは「欧州地域における気象関連死の主因は熱中症」だとしている。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2022/11/08-14:14）

At least 15,000 people have died in Europe because of hot weather in 2022 so far, the World Health Organization said Monday, with Spain and Germany among the worst-affected countries.
The three months from June-August were the hottest in Europe since records began, and the exceptionally high temperatures led to the worst drought the continent has witnessed since the Middle Ages.
Based on country data submitted so far, it is estimated that at least 15,000 people died specifically due to the heat in 2022, the WHO's Regional Director for Europe Hans Kluge said in a statement.
Nearly 4,000 deaths in Spain, more than 1,000 in Portugal, more than 3,200 in the United Kingdom, and around 4,500 deaths in Germany were reported by health authorities during the 3 months of summer, he added.
This estimate is expected to increase as more countries report on excess deaths due to heat, it said, highlighting the UN climate summit in Egypt and its calls for rapid action.
Crops withered in European breadbaskets, as the historic dry spell drove record wildfire intensity and placed severe pressure on the continent's power grid.
Successive heatwaves between June and July, which saw temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) in Britain for the first time, saw some 24,000 excess deaths in Europe.
Heat stress, when the body cannot cool itself, is the leading cause of weather-related death in the European Region, the WHO said.
It added that extreme temperatures can be a danger to people who suffer from chronic heart disease, breathing problems and diabetes.
WHO said increasing heatwaves and other extreme weather will lead to more diseases and deaths in the next decades unless drastic action is taken.