A study by the Madrid-based Foundation for Climate Research, the University of Valencia and the Institute of Environmental Assessment in Barcelona estimates that some 190 people have died so far this summer in the Balearics because of heat.
While heat clearly does have an impact on health, the number of deaths because of heat stroke are very low. Reported cases in Mallorca this summer include two workers and a hiker, but heat-attributable mortality, the researchers say, is much higher. However, for the medical profession it is very difficult to certify heat as the cause of death.
One of the researchers, Dominic Royé, explains that their figures are based on daily mortality data (MOMO) and met agency temperatures. An application they have developed, Heat-Attributable Mortality in Spain, is "a state-of-the-art statistical model widely used in environmental health studies".
Previous pathologies, houses without air conditioning, prolonged exposure to high temperatures are among factors that have to be taken into account. Age is another. Royé says that, in coming years, one in five heat-related deaths could be attributed to an ageing population.
MOMO provides an estimate of the deaths that have occurred due to high temperatures. This is based on excess mortality figures. In this respect, there have been 19 deaths in the Balearics so far this year. But the researchers believe that the extreme heat threshold of 35C for making this estimate is too high.
Royé points out that Aemet and the health ministry issue warnings for heat wave conditions but believes that the public need to be made more aware of recommendations that are only ever issued for extreme heat events, e.g. drinking water and liquids frequently, staying in cool places, reducing outdoor physical activity during the central hours of the day, wearing light clothing and eating light meals.
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Perhaps more education on the dangers of exposure to the Sun, should be made available.