dpa | Climate change is increasingly affecting the health of people in Europe. The number of heat-related deaths has risen in the period from 2015 to 2024 compared with 1991 to 2000 in 99.6 percent of the regions studied, according to the “Lancet Countdown Europe Report 2026” on climate change and health.
The average annual overall increase was 52 deaths per million inhabitants; in parts of Spain, in Italy, Greece and Bulgaria it is largely more than 120. The study by an international group led by Joacim Rocklöv from Heidelberg University Hospital was published in the scientific journal The Lancet.
“We see very clearly that the climate change driven by the use of fossil fuels poses a growing threat to the health of an increasing number of people in Europe,” said Rocklöv. The number of days with health warnings for extreme heat increased in the period 2015 to 2024 compared with 1991 to 2000 in Europe by 318 percent on average. The rise is highest, namely 450 percent, in Western Europe including Germany.
In addition to heat, the study authors identify further health risks associated with climate change. The scientists found, for the period 2015 to 2024 compared with 1991 to 2000, the season onset for all allergenic tree species was about one to two weeks earlier — meaning those affected will be plagued by hay fever earlier.
More tropical diseases
Moreover, the risk of tropical infectious diseases is rising as tropical mosquitoes increasingly spread related viruses. The annual transmission risk for the dengue virus in Europe increased in the period 2015 to 2024 relative to 1980 to 2010 by 297 percent. The vectors of malaria, West Nile fever and other diseases are also finding increasingly favorable distribution conditions.
The researchers noted that the share of renewable energy in the total European electricity supply rose from 8.4 to 21.5 percent between 2016 and 2023. Yet a lot of money continues to flow into fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas and oil. “Although Europe has committed in several international forums to phasing out subsidies for fossil fuels by 2025, a strong increase in subsidies was recorded for 2023/2024, triggered by the energy crisis following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the study authors write. According to them, subsidies alone amounted to 444 billion euros in 2023.
Criticism of Biomass Combustion
And there is also a development in renewable energy that gives scientists reason for concern: solid biomass accounted for 31 percent of total renewable energy consumption in 2023. Burning biomass such as wood pellets is counted as renewable energy production because only the carbon dioxide (CO2) released is the one that was absorbed during growth in our era. However, burning releases toxic substances and fine particles into the atmosphere. The deaths attributed to burning biomass in residential buildings increased by 4 percent between 2000 and 2022 according to the report.
The researchers warn not to underestimate the health consequences of climate change. “More and more countries are planning adaptation measures in the health sector, but without long-term and reliable financing these plans will end up in the drawer, while the impacts continue to worsen,” said lead author Hedi Kriit from Heidelberg University Hospital. Rocklöv emphasized: “The decisions we make now will determine whether health consequences escalate rapidly or whether we move toward a safer, fairer and more resilient Europe.”
