Fifty times more people could die from heat-related deaths in England and Wales by the 2070s due to climate change, a study warned.
University College London (UCL) researchers found that 34,027 people could die in this period, compared to today’s baseline figure of 634, based on a 4.3C warming prediction.
It comes as Britain braces for its third heatwave in just a few weeks, with temperatures set to soar above 30C across many parts of the country.
Even under a more optimistic model of 1.6C of warming, the study found that at least 3,007 people could die in the 2050s and 4,592 in the 2070s.
Dr Clare Heaviside, of UCL, told Sky News: “Over the next 50 years, the health impacts of a warming climate are going to be significant.
“We can mitigate their severity by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and with carefully planned adaptations, but we have to start now."
The UK’s 2022 summer, where the mercury hit 40.3C and 2,985 heat-related deaths were recorded, could become the “new normal” by 2050, the study warned.
By the 2060s, there could be between 21 to 32 extra hot days a year, according to the study. In the worst case, there could be between 64 to 73.
Dr Akshay Deoras, from the University of Reading, added: “If floods and storms are the loud alarms of climate change, extreme heat is its silent killer.
“It is disproportionately lethal, often going unnoticed until it's too late. With another heatwave bearing down on the UK, this warning feels more urgent than ever.”
On Wednesday, World Weather Attribution said an estimated 263 additional people died in London during the recent heatwave.
Global heating made the soaring temperatures that gripped much of Europe in late June and early July much more intense, the researchers found.
The heatwaves were up to 4C hotter across cities compared to a world without the climate crisis, according to the study.
The first rapid study to estimate the number of deaths linked to the climate crisis in a heatwave found human-driven global heating was responsible for around 65 per cent of the deaths that occurred across 12 cities, including London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and Rome.
The study found around 1,500 of the 2,300 estimated heat deaths were the result of the climate crisis – equating to a tripling of the number of deaths in the heatwave due to global heating.
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