Heatwaves are public health emergency in the making
Scotland cannot afford to ignore the growing health risks posed by extreme heat, says the Scottish Greens’ health spokesperson, Kayleigh Kinross-O’Neill. Kayleigh has called for heat resilience to become a national public health priority.
A report this week from Imperial College London, the Met Office and the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine has found that 2,700 excess deaths in England and Wales could have been related to heatwaves over May and June.
Kayleigh said:
“These figures represent a devastating loss of life. Behind every statistic is a family left grieving, and many of these deaths could have been prevented.
“It is a public health emergency in the making. Extreme weather events will only become more common, and our health and social care services need to be ready.
“That means creating greener towns and cities, expanding tree cover, designing homes and work places that stay cool in summer as well as warm in winter, and ensuring our NHS and social care services are equipped to respond to longer, hotter summers.
“The people most at risk are older people, disabled people, those with long-term health conditions and outdoor workers, who often have little choice but to work in dangerous temperatures. Protecting them must be a national priority.
“Climate action is not just about protecting the environment, it is about protecting people and public health.”