CLIMATE CHANGE COULD BRING EVEN MORE HEATWAVE DEATHS - HUHNE

1.57.56pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 18th Jul 2006

With temperatures across the UK predicted to hit record levels today, Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP, said:

"During the last heatwave in August 2003 there were 2,000 additional deaths due to a combination of poor air quality caused by high levels of ozone and particulates, and from heat exhaustion.

"This problem is likely to get worse with predicted rises in road traffic and the impact of rising summer temperatures that may result from climate change. This is a major public health issue that the Government should address with great urgency."

Research from the Liberal Democrats has revealed that these high temperatures are only part of a worrying set of environmental statistics including:

· 4 out of the 5 hottest years in the 330-year Central England temperature record occurred in the last 10 years.

· Almost 24,000 premature deaths have been caused by smog since 1997.

· Average ozone levels have risen from 49 micrograms per cubic metre in 1997 to 59 in 2005.

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The last 10 years (1996-2005), with the exception of 1996, are the warmest years on record worldwide. Here in the UK, 4 out of the 5 hottest years in the 330-year Central England temperature record occurred in the last 10 years (University of East Anglia).

Liberal Democrat Shadow Environment Secretary, Chris Huhne MP, has called for a new Act of Parliament to tackle these new and current dangers from ozone pollution, drawing attention to Liberal Democrat proposals to encourage more fuel efficient cars, and has called for local authorities to have powers to restrict car access to areas with severe summer smogs.

Lib Dem Research predicted that more than 3000 people will die prematurely from respiratory and other problems this year due to the severity of summer smog, and that:

Almost 24,000 premature deaths have been caused from the pollutant since 1997;

Average ozone levels have risen from 49 micrograms per cubic metre in 1997 to 59 in 2005;

Levels of ozone higher in rural areas than urban areas - 23% greater in 2005 (70 compared with 57 micrograms per cubic metre)

If current trends for rises in ozone levels continue, the number of additional premature deaths could, on average, continue to rise each year from the killer air pollutant.

[Lib Dem Press Release 8th July 2006]

There was a photochemical episode between 01/08/2003 and 14/08/2003.

The analysis suggests that there were between 225 and 593 additional deaths brought forward due to ozone and 207 due to PM10 in the UK during the episode in August 2003 in comparison with the same period in 2002. The results for England and Wales correspond to 21-38% of the total of 2045 excess deaths reported by ONS during the heatwave (ONS 2003b). The figure of 21-38% presumes that the ozone and PM10 results can be added it is possible that this involves some degree of double counting, although it is generally considered that the effects attributed to ozone are independent of those due to PM10 (WHO 2003).

http://www.airquality.co.uk/archive/reports/cat09/0401130931_heatwave2003.pdfhttp://www.airquality.co.uk/archive/reports/cat09/0401130931_heatwave2003.pdf

This episode was thought to have resulted in 27,000 additional deaths across North West Europe.