Extreme weather made worse by climate change is now a big threat to public health across the country, according to new research.
The University of Bristol led the study, which was published today in Nature Communications. It showed that in the South West of England, where the pandemic was at its worst, the number of deaths from weather risks was higher than the number of deaths from COVID-19.
Research Fellow in Climate Change and Health at the University's Cabot Institute for the Environment and Elizabeth Blackwell Institute for Health Research and lead author of the paper Dr. Eunice Lo said, "The statistics are stark and show how high the health burden of bad weather is in the UK right now." At the height of the pandemic, the country was also experiencing a record-breaking heat wave, which made me think that there would be more deaths than normal. However, the size of the jumps is shocking and worries me.
Sir Patrick Vallance, who used to be the UK Government's Chief Scientific Adviser, said at COP26 that the climate crisis was a much bigger problem than COVID-19 and would be more deadly if nothing was done right away. This made the experts move quickly.
Their study shows that between 2020 and 2022, temperature-related deaths were 8% higher than COVID-19 deaths in South West England. This clearly supports these claims. Also, in London, deaths from temperature were only 25% less than deaths from COVID-19, and in the East Midlands, they were 58% less. the same time period.
Lots of news outlets talked about the pandemic every day, with updates on the number of deaths and public health measures. Dr. Lo said. A lot of people were dying from the heat and cold, and in some parts of the country even more. This didn't get much attention, though. In a strange twist, news stories about people enjoying the sunshine were linked to record-high temperatures of over 40 degrees. This may show that most people don't know how dangerous too much heat can be.
The study found that health services were under a lot of stress that had never been seen before when COVID-19 happened at the same time as a heat wave or a very cold spell. More people could have been saved from dying because of this.
The number of extra deaths caused by extreme weather and COVID-19 between 2020 and 2022 was at least twice as high as it had been in the previous decade, depending on the area.
Dr. Lo said, "The numbers clearly show how bad things get when major health and weather-related events happen at the same time." For example, harsh cold during the spread that can be used. This study shows that the UK needs to be better ready for these kinds of events, which are likely to happen more often in the future.
Prof. Dann Mitchell, a co-author, said, "Climate change is not just an environmental problem; it is a constant, underlying stressor that makes the effects of other global crises, like pandemics.
Perhaps this was a lot bigger in other, less developed countries. Less stable, and make social pressures rise. It is very important to include climate adaptation in global health, economic, and security strategies in order to lower these increased risks.
