On average, 1500 hospital treatments registered per year
Heat and sunlight have caused an average of 1500 hospital treatments per year in Germany between 2002 and 2022. With an average of 20 deaths per year, heat as a direct cause of death is relatively rare, as the Statistical Federal Office in Wiesbaden announced on Monday. However, high temperatures increase overall mortality rates, as many cases combine heat and preexisting conditions to increase the risk of death.
The number of heat-related hospital treatments and deaths is reportedly highest in years with many so-called heat days above average. Particularly many treatments occurred in the hot year 2015, with 2322 cases recorded. This was 59% above the average of the years 2002 to 2022. In the same year, 60 deaths were attributable to heat or sunlight.
The most hospital treatments were recorded in 2003, with around 2600 cases. At that time, relatively many heat-related deaths were also recorded, namely 41. Therefore, 2003 was also a hot year with many heat days in Germany. The year 2019 also showed many heat-related treatments, with around 1692 cases and 39 deaths recorded.
Because of the high number of heat days, the average number of heat-related hospital treatments per year in Germany exceeded 1500 in 2015, reaching 2322. Since then, on average, hospital treatments due to heat have remained higher than the 2002-2022 average. Consequently, hospital treatments related to heat exposure contribute significantly to the total annual healthcare load in Germany.
