Britain’s Deadly Winters
UK’s coldest spring since 1963 claims 5,000 lives: Pensioners worst affected - and experts say final toll “horrendous”
Also, tens of thousands die prematurely each year in Britain. The very young and the elderly are especially at risk.
The Daily Mails writes this winter has inflicted a “horrendous” death toll on the unprepared population of Britain, especially the elderly.
- 2,000 extra deaths registered in just the first two weeks of March
- And for February, 3,057 extra deaths registered in England and Wales
It claims that the freezing Britain’s unusually harsh winter this year is likely to have cost thousands of pensioners their lives.
It goes on to say that this month is on track to be the coldest March for 50 years - and as the bitter Arctic conditions keeps on causing blackouts and traffic chaos, experts warn of an ‘horrendous’ death toll among the elderly.
About 2,000 extra deaths were registered in just the first two weeks of March compared with the average for the same period over the past five years.
And for February, 3,057 extra deaths were registered in England and Wales compared with the five-year average for the month.
Campaigners at Age UK, which says 26,000 people die needlessly in winter every year in Britain, said the current weather could prove deadly for thousands more British people.
Director general Michelle Mitchell said: ‘Colder, harsher winters tend to lead to an increase in life-threatening conditions such as heart attacks and strokes which in turn leads to a high rate of excess winter deaths. For every one degree drop in average temperature, there are around 8,000 extra deaths in Britain.’
It is thought winters are so deadly in Britain because most houses there lack basic modern conveniences such as proper central heating while autonomous boilers often malfunction, cost a small fortune to fix or replace and cannot always be operated at full capacity due to the prohibitively high cost of fuel oil and gas.
Also, detached and semi-detached houses and properties in Britain are poorly designed and even more poorly built especially as regards heating arrangements, insulation and cold weather-proofing.
Read more:http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2298246/UKs-coldest-spring-1963-claims-5-000-lives-Pensioners-worst-affected--experts-say-final-toll-horrendous.html#ixzz2OUqWsVcB