Over half EEA countries monitor and take action on heat and health
Collecting timely and reliable data on the number of deaths and illnesses associated with heat are vital to deploy targeted emergency responses during heatwaves. Twenty of the European Environment Agency’s (EEA) 38 member and cooperating countries currently monitor heat impacts on health, according to an EEA briefing.
The EEA briefing 'Impacts of heat on health' gives a first EEA state of play on national surveillance for heat-related health impacts. In terms of preparedness, 21 EEA member countries have heat-health action plans in place, and another four National Public Health Institutes are developing such plans.
However, progress is limited to southern and western European member countries. Several countries in central and eastern Europe currently do not have a surveillance system or heat-health action plan in place. The EEA briefing draws on a survey National Public Health Institutes participated in for the European Climate and Health Observatory.
