Deaths due to heat wave effect and water deficit in 2019.

 Deaths due to heat wave effect and water deficit in 2019.

Death from heat stroke is frequently manifested by the combined action of the water deficit in the body, the high climatic demand caused by the heat wave and the joint action of the different climate factors acting on the individual. The analyze studies from the results in the summer and spring of 2019, report that the supply of liquids in the summer amounted to 2425 ml / day. Body water deficit was evaluated at values ​​of 1.9 to 2.3 ml / min for urine flow. The fatalities amount to more than 4000 deaths from heat waves and are reported by Spain, Poland, Lithuania, France, the Netherlands, Italy and India, these increased with the increase in temperatures as a consequence of global warming in relation to the year 2017 and 2018. Juan G. R., Juan Prado J. A. and Juan G. R. Deaths due to heat wave effect and water deficit in 2019. Water and Irrigation Vol.: 11, No. 1: 25-29, May 5, 2020, Spain.

From the investigations on the flow of urine and its relationship with the climatic factors that were carried out in Alicante for 3 years, 2017-2019 for the different seasons of the year, which consider winter, spring, summer and autumn, the body water deficit for values ​​of 1.9 to 2.3 ml / min for urine flow and for a normal flow of urine with values ​​greater than 2.9 ml / min, during Phase 1 of the investigations, which are included between the period of time between 1.0 am and 10.0 am.

Climatic factors were taken from AEMET data sources at the El Altet Climatic station located about 10 km away from where the investigations were conducted, daily evaluating the behavior of urine and influencing climatic factors: temperature, barometric pressure, relative humidity and wind speed.

Research indicates that in adults, the water deficit and the lack of water in the body, reflect that it is necessary to take an adequate supply of water, so to counteract the adverse effects of heat waves during the summer and spring, Normally, around 2 liters of liquid should be taken daily, in addition to which more water must be supplied when intense heat waves appear, additionally contributing 100 to 200 ml each time the different heat waves appear. The liquid supply during the summer of 2019 amounted to 2425 ml / day when considering the additional water contribution due to the effect of the heat wave. In addition, an additional contribution of 700 ml / day must be added for the water contained in the ingested food: fruits, vegetables, different meats and fish, cereals, grains and other foods.

The results obtained are in agreement with those reported by the Carlos III Health Institute in Spain for the period 2000-2009, which indicate that it is necessary to increase care for certain groups of the population, such as the elderly, children and some chronically ill As a consequence of the effects of heat waves, these already cause risky situations for those who work in the sun during the central hours of the day and can also affect young people.

The population’s exposure to heat is increasing due to climate change, and this trend will continue. On a global scale, it is observed that extreme temperature phenomena are increasing in terms of their frequency, duration and magnitude. Between 2000 and 2016, the number of people exposed to heat waves increased by approximately 125 million. Exposure to excessive heat has far-reaching physiological impacts on all humans, and often amplifies existing conditions and results in premature death and disability, according WHO.

The hydric deficit and the scarcity of water in the body are manifested at different seasons of the year depending on the characteristics of the climatic year and the physiology of the individual, being generally more frequent during summer and spring. In the spring of 2019, there were 4 days with a water deficit, but in 2 of them the temperatures recorded for the time are considered normal, Table nº1. In the summer of 2019, the death toll and attention to cases due to heat stroke due to the effects of the heat wave increased considerably, 6 days with water deficit were recorded. See Table Nº2. In each period 90 evaluations were carried out, but in Tables 1 and 2 only show the days when there was a water deficit and some days with normal urine flow values, which are the most common observations.

Death from heat stroke is frequently manifested by the combined action of the water deficit in the body and the high climatic demand caused by the heat wave and the joint action of the different climate factors acting on the individual, as observed in the applied studies.

The year 2019 has been the warmest year in Europe and the second warmest year worldwide. In the month of January 2019 in the state of South Australia, the southern hemisphere reached 48.9ºC. France registered its highest temperature in history, 45.9ºC on June 28 in the southern city of Gallargues-le-Montueux. In Europe on July 25, national temperature records were registered in Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, with values ​​above 40 º C. In this month of July the average temperature of the planet has already been at 1.2 degrees above the pre-industrial level.

The scorching heat wave that hit France this summer left 1,435 dead, according to the French Ministry of Health on 9/9/2019

Table No 1. Deaths due to heat wave effect and water deficit in urine in June 2019

Table No 2. Deaths due to heat wave effect and water deficit in urine in the summer of 2019

.