|
The
Human Toll of Heat Waves: Selected Examples from Europe in August
2003 |
|
|
|
| Country |
Number
of Fatalities |
Other
Details |
|
|
|
| France |
14,802 |
Temperatures
soared to 104 degrees Fahrenheit in parts of the country; temperatures
in Paris were the highest since record-keeping began in 1873. |
|
|
|
| Germany |
7,000 |
High temperatures
of up to 105.4 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest since records began
in 1901, raised mortality some 10 percent above average. |
|
|
|
| Spain |
4,230 |
High temperatures
coupled with elevated ground-level ozone concentrations exceeding
the European Union's health-risk threshold. |
|
|
|
| Italy |
4,175 |
Temperatures
in parts of the country averaged 16 degrees Fahrenheit higher than
previous year. |
|
|
|
| United Kingdom |
2,045 |
The first triple
digit (Fahrenheit) temperatures were recorded in London. |
|
|
|
| Netherlands |
1,400 |
Temperatures
ranged some 14 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal. |
|
|
|
| Portugal |
1,316 |
Temperatures
were above 104 degrees Fahrenheit throughout much of the country. |
|
|
|
| Belgium |
150 |
Temperatures
exceeded any in the Royal Meteorological Society's records dating
back to 1833. |
|
|
|
| TOTAL OF ABOVE
COUNTRIES |
35,118 |
|
|
|
|
| Key:
To convert temperatures from Fahrenheit to Celsius, subtract 32 and
divide by 1.8.
|
|
|
|
| Compiled
by Janet Larsen, Earth Policy Institute, October 2003.
|
|
Global
Average Temperature and Atmospheric Concentrations of Carbon Dioxide,
1950-2003 |
|
|
|
| Year |
Temperature |
Carbon
Dioxide |
|
(degrees
Celsius) |
(parts
per million) |
|
|
|
1760
(at the start of the Industrial Revolution) |
|
276.72 |
|
|
|
| 1950 |
13.83 |
311.26 |
| 1951 |
13.97 |
311.74 |
| 1952 |
14.04 |
312.22 |
| 1953 |
14.11 |
312.70 |
| 1954 |
13.91 |
313.22 |
| 1955 |
13.91 |
313.73 |
| 1956 |
13.83 |
314.25 |
| 1957 |
14.09 |
314.77 |
| 1958 |
14.09 |
315.28 |
| 1959 |
14.04 |
316.00 |
| 1960 |
13.98 |
316.91 |
| 1961 |
14.10 |
317.63 |
| 1962 |
14.05 |
318.47 |
| 1963 |
14.04 |
319.02 |
| 1964 |
13.76 |
319.52 |
| 1965 |
13.86 |
320.09 |
| 1966 |
13.93 |
321.34 |
| 1967 |
13.99 |
322.12 |
| 1968 |
13.90 |
323.11 |
| 1969 |
14.00 |
324.60 |
| 1970 |
14.05 |
325.65 |
| 1971 |
13.90 |
326.32 |
| 1972 |
13.95 |
327.51 |
| 1973 |
14.18 |
329.61 |
| 1974 |
13.94 |
330.29 |
| 1975 |
13.98 |
331.16 |
| 1976 |
13.78 |
332.18 |
| 1977 |
14.15 |
333.88 |
| 1978 |
14.07 |
335.52 |
| 1979 |
14.12 |
336.89 |
| 1980 |
14.27 |
338.67 |
| 1981 |
14.40 |
339.95 |
| 1982 |
14.09 |
341.09 |
| 1983 |
14.34 |
342.75 |
| 1984 |
14.16 |
344.44 |
| 1985 |
14.13 |
345.87 |
| 1986 |
14.18 |
347.14 |
| 1987 |
14.34 |
348.99 |
| 1988 |
14.42 |
351.44 |
| 1989 |
14.28 |
352.94 |
| 1990 |
14.49 |
354.19 |
| 1991 |
14.44 |
355.62 |
| 1992 |
14.16 |
356.36 |
| 1993 |
14.18 |
357.10 |
| 1994 |
14.31 |
358.86 |
| 1995 |
14.47 |
360.90 |
| 1996 |
14.36 |
362.58 |
| 1997 |
14.40 |
363.84 |
| 1998 |
14.71 |
366.58 |
| 1999 |
14.44 |
368.28 |
| 2000 |
14.41 |
369.39 |
| 2001 |
14.56 |
370.89 |
| 2002 |
14.70 |
372.93 |
| 2003
* |
14.60 |
|
|
|
|
| *
2003 temperature is a preliminary estimate based on the January to
August average.
|
|
|
|
| Source:
Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
Earth Sciences Directorate, "Global Temperature Anomalies in .01 C,"
at http://www.giss.nasa.gov/data, updated September 2003; C.D. Keeling,
T.P. Whorf, and the Carbon Dioxide Research Group, "Atmospheric Carbon
Dioxide Record from Mauna Loa," Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California, at http://cdiac.esd.ornl.gov/trends/trends.htm,
25 July 2003.
|
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