Economic inequality is responsible for more than 100,000 additional deaths from heat and cold in Europe each year, according to a new study. The research, led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health, found that reducing inequality to the level of Slovenia—Europe's most equal region as measured by the Gini index—could cut temperature-related mortality by up to 30%, saving nearly 110,000 lives.
The study analysed daily mortality data for 654 European regions between 2000 and 2019. It found that high death tolls from heat and cold were strongly associated with poverty, material deprivation, and the inability to heat homes. Cutting severe deprivation across the continent to the level of central Switzerland would result in 59,000 fewer deaths, while increasing it to the level of south-east Romania would add 101,000 deaths.
The findings come as Europe faces rising temperatures, with last month being the third-hottest April on record globally. The return of El Niño has raised fears of a brutal European summer. Cold currently poses a greater threat than heat, but scientists project this will reverse as global heating accelerates.
Lead author Blanca Paniello-Castillo said the results highlight the need to include equity in climate policies: "If the equity perspective would be more included in policies... we would be hitting two goals at the same time." The study is the first to quantify the effect of socioeconomic troubles on temperature-related mortality in Europe.
