More and more people are being exposed to heat waves, reports Ekot on Swedish Radio.

And the heat claims more lives than, for example, floods and other extreme weather.

157 million more people were exposed to heat waves in 2017, compared to 2000.

– We see an increased proportion of the population exposed to heat waves every year, and it increases over time, says Joacim Rocklöv, professor at Umeå University, to the radio.

The Lancet Countdown is a research project investigating the impact of climate change on health. Each year, a report from the project is published in the journal The Lancet.

Joacim Rocklöv is one of the authors of the report. He says that the elderly and people with, for example, cardiovascular diseases are at greatest risk in extreme heat.

The prevalence of the mosquito that causes Dengue fever has also reached record levels, and it will likely continue to increase as the weather gets warmer.

Source: TT