reeves hill windfarm
News
Climate change soon could kill thousands in UK, says report
Climate change could lead to a heat wave in the south-east of England killing 3,000 people within the next decade, a Department of Health report said today[14.02.08]. It put the chances of a heatwave of that severity happening by 2017 at 25%. Without preventative action, the report said that a nine-day heatwave, with temperatures averaging at least 27degrees over 24 hours, would cause 3,000 immediate deaths, with another 3,350 people dying from heat-related conditions during the summer.
It predicted that there would be an increase in skin cancers due to increased exposure to sunlight and that, over the next half century, air pollution could lead to an extra 1,500 deaths and hospital admissions a year.
Sir William Stewart, chairman of the Health Protection Agency, which published the report jointly with the Department of Health, said:"Climate change is perhaps the most significant environmental problem which mankind will face in the coming century.
Source: The Guardian 14.02.08
