The heat is killing more and more Czechs. The number of deaths has doubled in Prague
According to Czech scientists, the same summer temperature studies still have a negative effect on the inhabitants of densely populated cities. For example, in the last decade, 90 people have died in Prague every year, while in the previous ones there were 40 fewer heat victims.
According to scientists from the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and the Czech University of Life Sciences in Prague, ever higher summer temperatures are in danger. People living in densely populated cities with a lack of greenery are at greatest risk.
Scientists in the new studies They compared the average daily temperatures measured at the Prague-Ruzyně station in May and September in the individual decades from 1982 to 2019. “The frequency and intensity of heat waves in the last decade was unprecedented. While the average summer temperature in the 1980s reached 15.3 degrees, in From 2010 to 2019 it was 16.9 degrees and there was also a significant increase in days with an average daily active higher than 20 degrees, “said the head of researchers Aleš Urban.
The warming affected mortality in Prague. While the average number of heat-related deaths in the first three decades was 50 per year, an average of 90 people have died in one year in the last decade.
“In relative numbers, this represents an increase in the proportion of deaths in relation to one percent to almost two percent of all deaths in the period under review”,“Urban explained, adding that a record number of heat-related deaths were recorded in 2015. At that time, more than 250 people died in Prague, representing more than five percent of all deaths between May and September.
The rising impact of tropical temperatures on mortality is forcing cities to adapt to warmer climates. “For periods of extremely high temperatures, an early warning system for the population should be set up to coordinate the various components of the integrated rescue system, similar to floods. In southern and western Europe, where similar systems were launched after the hot summer of 2003, we see that it really works, “Urban concluded.
TN.cz