Rise in Temperature Due to Climate Change Linked To Premature Deaths of 1,500 Swedes: Study

Climate changes pose a wide range of risks to mankind. A new study highlights the impact of climate change on humans by linking increase in temperatures to higher mortality rates.

Climate changes have brought about severe and permanent changes to our planet's geological, ecological and biological systems. These changes pose a serious threat to human lives. The new study conducted by researchers at Umea University reveals that rise in temperature caused by the rapid change in climate over the last 30 years, from 1980-2009, led to more than 300 premature deaths in Stockholm, Sweden's capital, and about 1,500 premature deaths in the entire country.

According to the researchers, global warming not just triggers a general rise in temperature but also increases the frequency, intensity and duration of heat waves. The studies conducted earlier have linked changing climate to high mortality rates, especially when the temperature is high.

In the present finding, the researchers analyzed the extent to which mortality associated with rise in temperature occurred in Sweden's capital between 1980 and 2009. In order to assess the extremes, the researchers compared the study temperature data with the temperatures from 1900 to 1929.

The researchers noticed a significant spike in the temperatures in the period 1980-2009, which led to the over 300 early death.

"Mortality associated with extreme heat during the relevant period was doubled, compared to if we had not had some climate change," Daniel Oudin Astrom, PhD-student in Occupational and Environmental Medicine, who conducted the study, said in a press statement. "Furthermore, we saw that even though the winters have become milder, extremely cold periods occurred more often, which also contributed to a small increase in mortality during the winter."

Though the rise in premature deaths over the period of 30 years is small, the researchers emphasize that this study was conducted in just one small region, Stockholm. If this was used to calculate the mortality rate in the whole of Sweden, or Europe, the number of deaths during this period would shoot up. And the study did not include premature deaths caused by less extreme temperatures.

Daniel Oudin Astrom concludes saying, "The study findings do not suggest any adaptation of the Swedes when it comes to confronting the increasingly warmer climate, such as increased use of air conditioning in elderly housing. It is probably because there is relatively little knowledge in regards to increased temperatures and heat waves on health."

The finding was documented in the journal Nature Climate Change.