14 DAY TRIAL // Writing in a recent issue of the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, a team of researchers says that, by the year 2050, the number of heat wave-related deaths documented in England and Wales annually could up by as much as 257% when compared to a 2000 baseline.
In their paper, the specialists detail that, according to their investigations into the matter at hand, the yearly number of deaths linked to hot weather in said regions will not increase due to global warming and climate change alone.
On the contrary, it would appear that population growth in the United Kingdom will also have a say in the matter, EurekAlert tells us.
According to the same source, people over the age of 75 are the ones more likely to be affected by the hot weather that is bound to hit both England and Wales in the years to come.
“As the contribution of population growth and aging on future temperature related health burdens will be large, the health protection of the elderly will be important,” specialists warn.
Interestingly enough, the researchers argue that, whereas the number of hot weather-related deaths is likely to increase, the number of people who die as a result of exposure to very low temperatures will fall.
Specifically, they say that, when compared to its current level of about 41,000, the number of yearly deaths linked to cold will be reduced by about 2%. This will happen due to higher winter temperatures.
These predictions concerning how global warming and population growth will influence annual heat wave-related deaths in said regions of the United Kingdom were made by specialists with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and Public Health England.
As part of their investigation, the researchers compiled data concerning temperature fluctuations and mortality rates between the years 1993-2006.
Based on this information, and also taking into account population growth, they were able to predict how future weather conditions will alter annual deaths in the years to come.