Londoners are being urged to “please drink sensibly”, after it was revealed paramedics in the capital attended more booze-related incidents in August last year than at Christmas.
More than 9,700 booze-related calls were answered by the London Ambulance Service (LAS) between June and August last year and over 4,700 drug overdoses.
This was more than party season in December, the LAS said, as they received more than 2,600 alcohol-related calls and 1,100 drug-related calls during that month.
With the UK now bracing itself for its third heatwave, ambulance bosses have issued a warning to revellers to look after themselves and their friends.
Mark Faulkner, Consultant Paramedic at LAS said: “Every avoidable alcohol-related call we attend could take away from someone who might have a life-threatening condition.”
It comes as scientists from Imperial College London and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) found summer heatwaves caused the deaths of 263 Londoners between June 23 and July 2.
About 171 of these excess deaths were caused by climate change, which made temperatures in the capital nearly 4C higher, the researchers said.
Researchers found human-driven global warming was responsible for around 65% of the deaths that occurred across 12 cities, including London, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona and Rome.
They found around 1,500 of the 2,300 estimated heat deaths in those cities were the result of climate change — equating to a tripling of the number of deaths in the heatwave due to global warming.
Hot weather can have a significant impact on people’s health, LAS say, as they expect an increase in calls relating to difficulty in breathing, dizziness and fainting, as well as more calls relating to chest pains and heart problems during hot periods.
During soaring temperatures LAS often see calls related to respiratory illnesses and cardiac-related calls are common in the days following a heatwave.
Mr Faulkner told the BBC: "August brings more alcohol-related calls than the Christmas party season so if you are enjoying the festival season, please drink sensibly.”
"If you suspect that a friend is having a drug overdose, there are steps you can take to help to us them. This includes calling 999, telling us what they've taken and following the instructions of the 999 call-handler.
"There is no such thing as a reliable drug dealer. You do not know what you are taking and what it might have been mixed with. Even if you have taken the substance before, this does not mean it is safe."
