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A6 WORLD NEWS
Tuesday 11 July 2023
As temperatures soared in Europe last year, so did heat-related

deaths, study finds

By FRANK JORDANS last summer than the aver-
Associated Press age from 2015 to 2021.
BERLIN (AP) — Scientists say Without appropriate pre-
crushing temperatures that vention measures, “we
blanketed Europe last sum- would expect a heat-re-
mer may have led to more lated mortality burden of
than 61,000 heat-related 68,116 deaths on average
deaths, highlighting the every summer by the year
need for governments to 2030,” the authors said.
address the health impacts They forecast that figure
of global warming. would rise to over 94,000
In their study, published by 2040 and more than
Monday in the journal Na- 120,000 by mid-century.
ture Medicine, researchers Governments in Spain and
examined official mortal- Germany recently an-
ity figures from 35 Europe- nounced new measures
an countries and found a to address the effects of
marked increase in deaths hot weather on their pop-
between late May and ulations. In Switzerland, a
early September last year group of seniors is citing
compared with the aver- the danger posed to older
age recorded over a 30- women by intense heat
year period. The increase in a court case seeking to
in heat-related deaths was A tourist uses a fan to shade her face from the sun while waiting to watch the Changing of the force the the government
higher among older peo- Guard ceremony outside Buckingham Palace, during hot weather in London, July 18, 2022. to take tougher climate
ple, women and in Medi- Associated Press action. One difficulty for
terranean countries, they The highest temperatures study found. Some would have occurred researchers is that heat-
found. But the data also in- were recorded across a “Possibly France drew les- even if summer tempera- related deaths are often
dicated that measures tak- swath of the southwest- sons from the experience tures had stayed in line with happening in people with
en in France since a deadly ern Europe, from Spain to of 2003,” he said. the long-term average. But pre-existing conditions,
heatwave two decades France and Italy. France’s warning system there is no doubt that the such as cardiovascular dis-
ago may have helped pre- “But when we look at the includes public announce- intense heat in 2022 which ease, said Matthias an der
vent deaths there last year. heat related mortality, we ments with advice on how saw numerous European Heiden of Germany’s Rob-
“In the pattern of summer start to see borders,” Ball- to stay cool and encourag- records tumble led to high- ert Koch Institute, who was
mean temperatures in Eu- ester told The Associated ing people to drink water er mortality rates, as other not involved in the study.
rope during the summer Press. While France had 73 and avoid alcohol. studies on heat deaths This means that heat is not
of 2022, we don’t see bor- heat-related deaths per Not all of the heat-related have also shown. the underlying cause of
ders,” said co-author Joan million inhabitants last sum- deaths calculated across The authors calculated deaths and therefore not
Ballester of the Barcelona mer, Spain’s rate was 237 Europe last summer were that there were over 25,000 recorded in the cause of
Institute for Global Health. and Italy’s was 295, the linked to climate change. more heat-related deaths deaths statistics. q

A Libyan court jails 38 human traffickers over the deaths of 11

Europe-bound migrants at sea

CAIRO (AP) — A court in rope, it said. The statement The court ruling was the lat- the chief prosecutor’s of- six nations, including Egypt,
eastern Libya sentenced did not say when the dead- est in the conflict-wracked fice said another court in Algeria and Sudan. They
five people to life in prison ly shipwreck took place or North African nation to tar- the capital, Tripoli, sen- then pack desperate peo-
after they were convicted provide further details. get traffickers. On Friday, tenced one defendant to ple into ill-equipped rubber
of human trafficking over life in prison and two others boats and other vessels for
the deaths of 11 migrants to 20 years each for human the risky voyage across the
who were on a rickety boat trafficking. central Mediterranean.
trying to cross the Mediter- In recent years, Libya has For years, the United Na-
ranean to Europe, the of- become a major transit tions and rights groups
fice of Libya’s chief pros- point for Middle Eastern have decried the inhu-
ecutor said Monday. and African migrants flee- mane conditions faced
The court in the city of Bay- ing conflict and poverty by migrants trafficked and
da also sentenced nine to seek a better life in Eu- smuggled across the Medi-
other defendants to 15 rope. The oil-rich country terranean.
years in prison each, the of- descended into chaos fol- In March, U.N.-backed hu-
fice of General Prosecutor lowing a NATO-backed up- man rights experts said
al-Sediq al-Sourr said in a rising in 2011 that toppled there was evidence that
statement. Another 24 oth- and killed longtime auto- crimes against human-
ers were jailed for a year, Migrants wait to be rescued by the Spanish NGO Open Arms crat Moammar Gadhafi. ity had been committed
the statement added. lifeguards during a rescue operation at international waters Human traffickers have against Libyans and mi-
The defendants were part zone of Libya SAR (Search and Rescue) in the Mediterranean benefited from the instabil- grants in in Libya, including
of a network smuggling sea, on Sept. 15, 2022. Associated Press ity in Libya, smuggling mi- women being forced into
migrants from Libya to Eu- grants across borders from sexual slavery.q