Heatwaves in UK could kill 10,000 people a year, lawmakers warn

LONDON -- The United Kingdom (UK) government urgently needs a plan to tackle the silent killer of heatwaves which could claim up to 10,000 lives annually in the country without concerted action, a committee of parliament lawmakers warned on Wednesday.

With temperatures in the UK soaring above 40 degrees Celsius, and 2023 the world's hottest year on record, the Environmental Audit Committee of the House of Commons has raised concerns over the UK's lack of preparedness in a new report.

"The world is heating up, and in the coming year we may exceed an increase of over 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels: breaking a key ambition of the Paris Agreement. The record temperatures we are seeing in UK summers, triggered by climate change, pose significant risks to health and wellbeing, and swift action must now be taken to adapt to the UK's changing climate," said Philip Dunne, chair of the Environmental Audit Committee.

"Projections suggest that without action, there could be 10,000 UK heat-related deaths annually. High temperatures are costing the UK economy 60 billion pounds ($76 billion) a year," he said.