Floods, storms, heat and cold waves, forest fires and landslides killed almost 195,000 people in Europe between 1980 and 2021. This emerges from a report published by the European Environment Agency EAA on Wednesday. According to this, damage of more than 560 billion euros was caused by extreme weather events.
The EAA also said that only 170 billion euros or 30 percent of the damage was insured. She launched a new online portal to collect data on the consequences of extreme weather.
Extreme weather causes deaths
“To avoid further losses, we urgently need to move from reacting to extreme weather events to proactive preparation,” EAA expert Aleksandra Kazmierczak told AFP. According to the latest data, heat waves were responsible for 81 percent of deaths and 15 percent of financial damage.
According to the Environment Agency, Europe must take action to protect its aging population, which is particularly sensitive to extreme heat. Most national strategies would consider the effects of heat on the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. “But less than half address direct effects of heat such as dehydration or heat stroke,” the agency said.
The consequences of the climate catastrophe in Germany and around the world will also be noticeable in 2023: forest fires as early as spring, rock falls due to the thawing of permafrost, hurricanes such as those in India are becoming ever stronger.