The persistent maximum temperatures of well above 30 degrees set the professional rescue service in constant motion. But it’s not just medical emergencies like fainting and heart attacks that keep emergency services on their toes.
Extreme temperatures are bad for your health. The Vienna professional rescue service booked 200 to 300 extra missions per day during the most recent heat wave, which peaked again on Monday: “We had over 1000 missions compared to 800 to 900 in normal weeks,” a spokeswoman for the rescue service said. with the warm weather clear. “The longer the heat wave lasts, the greater the pressure on the circulatory system, and especially infants and the elderly are affected.”
According to AGES, 550 heat deaths in 2018
The many rescue operations give reason to fear that there will again be hundreds of heat deaths across Austria this year – although the term is difficult to define exactly. “Our experts then analyze the mortality data, such as deaths from stroke or heart attack, and determine how excess mortality and heat waves coincide,” says AGES, which peaked in 2018 with about 550 heat deaths. At the time, nearly all state capitals had the longest heatwaves since the weather records began.
From collapse to traffic accident
At the moment, however, it is not only medical emergencies that keep the emergency services on their toes: accidents due to carelessness on the road can also be caused by the heat. Not infrequently, the warm weather also stimulates aggressiveness. So it is quite possible that the sad number from 2018 will be exceeded this summer. In July there were already eleven days with more than 30 degrees.
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
