Victims of heatwaves

The relationship between temperature and mortality is U-shaped: mortality increases at temperatures far above or below the optimal temperature. By the way, the optimum is location-specific: the population of southern European countries is more resistant to high temperatures than residents of our region. Higher temperatures mainly increase mortality in elderly people, in people with cardiovascular disease and respiratory problems, and in children under 4 years of age. The impact of heat periods is often less visible than the damage caused by, for example, floods or hurricanes. However, exposure to heat still appears to cause significantly more casualties: compare, for example, the 1,500 victims of Hurricane Katrina of 2005 in the US with the more than 70 000 victims of the European heatwave in the summer of 2003. This indicator therefore examines which heatwaves lead to death in Belgium, and is based on analyses carried out by the Scientific Institute of Public Health. A heat wave is defined as a period of at least five days during which the maximum daily temperature at Uccle is 25 °C or more (summer days), and during which the temperature rises above 30 °C for three days (tropical days). And other health effects of heat waves are also discussed.