Can anyone elaborate on the news headline I got to briefly view this morning that said three thousand deaths had occured in France due to the heatwave?!
That's horrible and I do so hope I read it wrong in my haste to get to work on time!

Sadly enough it's true. Read it here

Edit: 3000 is a bit much, maybe those numbers are correct if you include the rest of Europe. People die every year because of the heat, but mainly in Greece and Turkey. This year it's extreme almost everywhere in Europe, and older people are having a hard time breathing.

[ 08-14-2003, 10:13 AM: Message edited by: johnny ]

I also heard that number, 3000. :( Johnny, does that article mention the number of people that usually dies during summer? I know that several elderly die every year due to the heat.

Well, as I'm sure you are aware Willow, there is a V-like relationship between mortality and temperature, with an optimum temperature value (e.g., average temperature with lowest mortality rate) of 16.5°C for total mortality, cardiovascular mortality, respiratory mortality, and mortality among those Greater/equal 65 year of age. For mortality due to malignant neoplasms and mortality in the youngest age group, the optimum temperatures were 15.5°C and 14.5°C, respectively. For temperatures above the optimum, mortality increased by 0.47, 1.86, 12.82, and 2.72% for malignant neoplasms, cardiovascular disease, respiratory diseases, and total mortality, respectively, for each degree Celsius increase above the optimum in the preceding month. For temperatures below the optimum, mortality increased 0.22, 1.69, 5.15, and 1.37%, respectively, for each degree Celsius decrease below the optimum in the preceding month. Mortality increased significantly during all of the heat waves studied, and the elderly were most effected by extreme heat. The heat waves led to increases in mortality due to all of the selected causes, especially respiratory mortality. Average total excess mortality during the heat waves studied was 12.1%, or 39.8 deaths/day.

I trust this answers your question.

Normally it's between 50 and 200 in mostly southern european countries. This time it's much much worse, and it's not over yet. Here in the Netherlands the temperature has dropped below 30, thank goodness, but France, Spain and Greece, Italy and Portugal are still suffering from the heatwave. Not to mention the forest fires.

Wellard posted about this in GD as well: http://www.ironworksforum.com/ubb/cg...=017125#000001