Heat related deaths soared in Europe last year

 US News - Scientists say crushing temperatures that blanketed Europe last summer may have led to more than 61,000 heat-related deaths.... In their study, published Monday in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers examined official mortality figures from 35 European countries and found a marked increase in deaths between late May and early September last year compared with the average recorded over a 30-year period. The increase in heat-related deaths was higher among older people, women and in Mediterranean countries, they found. But the data also indicated that measures taken in France since a deadly heatwave two decades ago may have helped prevent deaths there last year....While France had 73 heat-related deaths per million inhabitants last summer, Spain's rate was 237 and Italy's was 295, the study found.... France’s warning system includes public announcements with advice on how to stay cool and encouraging people to drink water and avoid alcohol.