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Weather & Science

England’s Hot Summer Pushed Excess Deaths in Elderly to New High

  • Data shows a rise in mortality amid record temperatures
  • UK needs to plan for effects of climate change, official says
A visitor shelters in the shade of a tree on parched ground in Greenwich Park in the Greenwich district of London, UK, on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Across London — and most of England — the unprecedented heat this summer has pushed plant life, infrastructure and residents to the edge.
A visitor shelters in the shade of a tree on parched ground in Greenwich Park in the Greenwich district of London, UK, on Wednesday, Aug. 3, 2022. Across London — and most of England — the unprecedented heat this summer has pushed plant life, infrastructure and residents to the edge.Photographer: Jose Sarmento Matos/Bloomberg
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England experienced a higher level of excess deaths among the elderly during hot spells this summer than during any comparable period since the government began tracking such statistics in 2004.

England had 2,803 more deaths than would otherwise be expected among those of age 65 and up during the scorching summer, which saw bouts of record-breaking temperatures, according to a joint report from the UK Health Security Agency and Office for National Statistics.