EU agency: dengue and malaria are coming to Europe because of climate change EU agency: dengue and malaria are coming to Europe because of climate change

Unprecedented heatwaves, like this year’s, pose the greatest direct climate-related health threat to Europeans, the EU environment agency EEA said in a report published Wednesday. Even today, such heat waves have caused countless deaths and illnesses.

Those numbers would increase without further action to adapt to and mitigate climate change, the EEA warned. Among other things, the most vulnerable groups can be better protected with action plans, the creation of green and shady places in cities, better building design and adjusted working hours. It’s time to move from planning to action.

For the new report, the Copenhagen-based EU agency looked at the extent to which climate change poses a threat to health and well-being in Europe. She focused on the effects of high temperatures and the climate-related spread of infectious diseases. Diseases such as malaria and dengue are therefore expected to spread further north as climate change increases, causing a higher burden of disease.

Only on Monday did the European office of the World Health Organization (WHO) announce that, according to data reported so far, at least 15,000 people in the region have explicitly died from the heat this year, including about 4,500 in Germany. Overall, this summer has seen an escalation of heatwaves, droughts and wildfires across Europe, WHO regional director Hans Kluge said — all of which had implications for the health of the population. (sda/dpa)