According to calculations by the Health and Food Safety Agency (HFSA), there were 646 heat-related deaths in Austria in June and July. This is a record number for this period, the country's Ministry of Health announced, quoted by BTA.
In the also very hot summer of 2024, 570 heat-related deaths were recorded by the end of July, compared to 284 in the previous year.
On July 31, a temperature of 40.3 degrees was measured in Wieselburg, Lower Austria, which set a new temperature record for a July day in Austria.
The data on heat-related mortality is based on a scientific model of the AZBH. Through a statistical analysis of data on deaths and weather conditions, it is calculated how many additional deaths can be associated with exposure to unusually high temperatures.
About a month ago, the AZBH calculated the number of heat-related deaths for the first time during the summer. At that time, the agency estimated that 395 people died as a result of the heat in June. In July, 251 more cases were added to them.
New data on heat-related deaths once again shows how severely high temperatures are burdening people's health, the Ministry of Health commented.