The Portuguese health director announced, on Tuesday, that the country must prepare to face the effects of climate change as temperatures continue to rise.
“Portugal is one of the regions in the world that can be most affected by extreme heat,” Graca Fretta said. Reuters.
Temperatures in the country topped 40 degrees last week. Although they have declined in recent days, Freitas said they have remained above normal levels for this time of year.
Expecting a high death toll
The Portuguese Directorate of Health reported 238 deaths from July 7 to 13. Freitas now says the death toll has risen to 1,063 from July 13 to July 18. This is due to the heat wave.
A researcher at the University of Lisbon said in an interview that it is likely that the elderly are the ones who will die from the heat wave.
Rødtopper gets its own heat wave width
The increase in the mortality rate is expected to intensify with the climatic changes that occur. Therefore, we must implement measures at the public health level to reduce the risk of this happening, says Carlos Antunes, according to Reuters.
He added that the number of future deaths will depend on the preventive measures people take to protect themselves, how care homes are caring for residents and how the infrastructure is adapted.
Heat waves last longer
Deadly forest fires devastated the continent. The United Nations World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has warned that things are getting worse.
Heat waves are becoming more frequent and intense, and lasting longer due to man-made climate change.
In the future, this type of heat wave will be natural, and even worse than now, says WMO President Petteri Taalas. BBC News.
Norwegians on vacation in London: – Exceptionally warm
The United Kingdom, whose climate is usually more temperate, had temperatures above 40 degrees for the first time.
In addition to record temperatures in the UK, several fire departments have declared serious accidents after the fires increased.
Biggest wildfire in 30 years
In France, high temperatures were recorded in the sky in 64 different regions on Monday.
Although the record has not yet been reached, some places in the country have experienced their largest wildfires in more than 30 years. BBC News writes that about 37,000 people have been evacuated from their homes.
Climate Crisis: Collective Action or Suicide
Italy’s weather forecast warns of temperatures between 40 and 42 degrees between Wednesday and Friday.
Several wildfires have already been reported in the country, and the fires that broke out Monday night in Tuscany continued to rage on Tuesday afternoon.
Taste in Norway
In the coming days, many places in Norway will see southern temperatures as well.
Today, it is said to be very hot in several places, particularly in the east and south can enjoy temperatures of up to 30 degrees.
Meteorologist in action, Siri Wiberg at the Meteorological Institute, says one place in particular will be the weather winner in the coming days.
The østafjells regions have the highest temperatures on Wednesday. Here we’ll likely see the 30s in a few places—maybe more than that, too, Wiberg tells Dagbladet, Tuesday night.
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