Impact of the heat waves the Italian elderly population: not just a hot issue

Abstract

Abstract Background Italy is considered a hotspot for climate change in the Mediterranean Sea e.g. due to heat waves. The year 2022 was the hottest in the past decade, with mean temperatures exceeding those in 1981-2010 by far. Further, it is well-known that socioeconomic disadvantage has a negative impact on health consequences and the risk of death during heat waves. Methods Bringing together statistical sources at national and subnational levels, we carry out a descriptive analysis about the vulnerability of specific subgroups of older people towards heat, by age group, region and socio-economic status. Results Recent data published by the Italian National Institute of Statistics highlighted 265,000 deaths (about 40% of total deaths) registered in the 4 months with the most critical climate conditions, i.e. January and December for the cold and July and August for hot weather. Except for 2020 when COVID-19 dramatically hit the Italian population, among the most recent 4 years (2003, 2015, 2017, 2022) with mortality rates higher than expected, three of them are concentrated in a period of just 8 years, where the climate crisis has been showing all its negative potential in terms of impact on health and survival, especially for a country where population is highly ageing. We further observe a correlation between the incidence of severe heat waves and the share of socio-economically deprived older people in the Southern part of the country. Discussion We identify regions that require specific attention from health policy-makers, especially in the Southern part of Italy where heat waves are extremely severe and older people are more socio-economically vulnerable and/or cannot protect themselves from heat adequately, e.g. due to adequate housing insulation. We underline the need for countries experiencing frequent and prolonged heat waves to rapidly intervene with national mitigation and adaptation plans, to protect vulnerable populations from negative health consequences.