Summer Heatwaves Could Kill 11,000 A Year

Summer heatwaves could kill 11,000 people a year in Britain by the 2080s, a new report has warned.

The Health Protection Agency says climate change is likely to raise average temperatures by between two and five degrees, with "significant looming health challenges" for the nation.

Heat-related deaths are expected to soar from their present level of 2,000 a year.

Dr Sotiris Vardoulakis of the HPA said rising temperatures are a direct threat to patients with lung and heart disease, but an increase in accidents and suicides during heatwaves will add to the death toll.

"Heat-related mortality will increase steeply," he said.

And there's a grim warning for hayfever sufferers that the high pollen counts seen this year over a prolonged period could become the norm.

In future, grass is expected to begin flowering far earlier in the year, releasing a more potent allergenic form of pollen.

And ragweed, a plant native to the United States, is likely to become established in southern Britain.

Professor Roy Kennedy of the National Pollen and Aerobiology Research Unit said the plant can shed millions of pollen grains and trigger hayfever or even asthma in people who have never suffered before.

"If you have got more powerful pollen and new allergens coming in from pollen like ragweed you are potentially going to end up with more people needing hospital admission," he told Sky News.

Warmer summers are also likely to allow disease carrying mosquitoes to breed in Britain, with malaria spreading as far north as Manchester.

HPA chairman Dr David Heymann said: "This report will provide all government departments with the information they need to properly prioritise areas for future work and protect the UK public from the significant looming health challenges that climate change presents."