Last week the thermometer showed more than 40 degrees Celsius, while the drought intensifies
More than 1,000 people lost their lives in Portugal due to the recent wave heatwave and authorities warned today that the country should prepare to face the effects of climate change as temperatures continue to rise.
“Portugal (…) is among those regions of the planet that will be most affected by extreme heat”, said Graça Freitas, the head of the DGS health service, speaking to the Reuters agency. “We should prepare for periods of high temperatures,” he added.
Last week the thermometer was showing above 40 degrees Celsius in Portugal, a country affected by drought. Although the temperature has dropped in recent days, Freitas said it remains above normal levels for the season.
DGS had previously announced that 238 heat-related deaths were recorded from July 7 to 13, but Freitas said today that by July 18 the death toll had risen to 1,063.
THE Carlos Antunes, a researcher at the University of Lisbon, said that based on the data, those most at risk of dying from the heat are the elderly. In the future, deaths will depend on the preventive measures the world adopts to protect itself and whether the infrastructure will adapt to extreme events. “With climate change, mortality is expected to increase and therefore public health measures should be taken to minimize the effects,” he explained.
RES-EMP
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