2,500 likely to die in pre-Christmas cold snap(UK)

theski · Post by **theski** » 2003-12-23 08:02am

More than 2,500 people in England and Wales are likely to perish from cold in the week leading up to Christmas.

The forecast comes from the Faculty of Public Health and Met Office.

Each winter, a larger proportion of Britons die because of cold weather than in either Finland or Russia.

An estimated 40,000 more people die between December and March in the UK than would be expected from death rates during other times of the year.

It is estimated that there are 8,000 extra deaths for every one degree Celsius the temperature is below the winter average

http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_849392.html

This is a Joke right....first the thousands die in heat waves now this??? WTF No A/C and no Heaters?

Zac Naloen · Post by **Zac Naloen** » 2003-12-23 08:11am

probably old people with shit heaters....

Sir Sirius · Post by **Sir Sirius** » 2003-12-23 08:52am

I think they are talking about people that die from illnesses caused or agravated by cold weather, not people literary freezing to death.

Ananova.com wrote:More than half the deaths are due to heart attacks, strokes and circulatory problems and a third from lung disease.

Col. Crackpot · Post by **Col. Crackpot** » 2003-12-23 09:37am

that sucks, although Theski is right about the heatwave deaths attributed to the complete lack of air conditioning in most of Europe. Their was a bit on that on NBC nightly news a few months back. something to do with energy costs.

Admiral Valdemar · Post by **Admiral Valdemar** » 2003-12-23 09:54am

The UK (presently) doesn't really need A/C, a cool room and some iced tea is good enough. France however I would expect to have these things as a norm like in Spain or Greece where every building has A/C.

This type of thing affects the elderly first though and more people will die from Flu than hypothermia.

theski · Post by **theski** » 2003-12-23 09:59am

Heatwave deathtolls.....

In France, where pictures of unclaimed corpses piling up in refrigerator trucks have shocked the nation, the government has admitted failings and appointed experts to establish how many of an estimated 13,600 extra deaths in August were directly caused by the hottest weather in 60 years.

The Italian government is investigating reports that deaths leapt 20 percent in a summer where the mercury has been hitting a sweltering 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) since June.

A Spanish rights group alleges the scorching weather killed 2,000 in Spain, dwarfing a government estimate of 101, and Portugal says it claimed 1,300 lives in a summer that saw swathes of forestland destroyed by fires.

France has been harder hit than countries like Spain and Italy, where summers are normally hotter and many homes have electric fans or air conditioning.

http://www.enn.com/news/2003-08-28/s_7855.asp

Dahak · Post by **Dahak** » 2003-12-23 10:21am

ACs are not needed here. For that short time frame where they are useful. And the costs for them would be prohibitive. Not to speak about the costs for fitting them into flats...

Tom_Aurum · Post by **Tom_Aurum** » 2003-12-23 12:58pm

You'd be surprised how many things like that that people just don't need there are in the states. Especially in snotty little port towns.

Post by **Darth Wong** » 2003-12-23 05:05pm

You know, I could probably live without my air conditioning. Hell, I could live without my computer, my car, my kids' toys, more than a half-dozen shirts, my stereo, my TV, and even central heading since I have a fireplace.

One of the nice things about living in a capitalist society is that I can get things I don't strictly need. But France was not about need; it was about stupidity. People who drink wine when they're dehydrated are too fucking dumb to live.

Dark Hellion · Post by **Dark Hellion** » 2003-12-23 05:16pm

My idiocy over, I agree whole heartedly with what Mr. Wong states. Far too many people die because of their own stupidity than the need for, or lack of, AC/Heating. I don't see the problem with having it that some people seem to have. I have central heat and air, but I live in a place where 120 degree temperature differance between summer and winter are not horribly uncommon. However, some people seem to think that unless you live in Libya or Saudi Arabia, AC is a needless luxury. Of course, its not suprising that the same people who say it have rarely experience 100+ degree weather.

Sharp-kun · Post by **Sharp-kun** » 2003-12-23 06:56pm

The things thats annoying me here, is that British Gas are getting criticsed for cutting off case to people who didn't pay their bill. What are they meant to do?

Blame the non-payers, and their families who didn't support them.

Post by **Vympel** » 2003-12-23 09:30pm

Darth Wong wrote:
One of the nice things about living in a capitalist society is that I can get things I don't strictly need. But France was not about need; it was about stupidity. People who drink wine when they're dehydrated are too fucking dumb to live.

*That's* what caused it!?

Crayz9000 · Post by **Crayz9000** » 2003-12-23 10:41pm

Vympel wrote:*That's* what caused it!?

Apparently so.

I mean, hey, I'm in Southern California. For the longest time, we only had one small air conditioner running in our house. And you know what? None of us died.

The trick, as Wong mentioned, is staying properly hydrated. Not my fault if some people are fucking stupid and start panicking when the temperature gets uncomfortably hot.

Nathan F · Post by **Nathan F** » 2003-12-24 12:38am

Heck, my PARENTS didn't have A/C in the farmhouses they lived in when they grew up 40 years ago! (Well, as far as I know they didn't)

Anyone who has lived in Tennessee can attest to the fact that it gets HOT here in the summer, too (90-100 days are the norm in July and August). It also gets VERY cold in the winter (We're talking 0-30 F in January and February).

How the heck are people dying by the thousands because of a little heatwave?

MKSheppard · Post by **MKSheppard** » 2003-12-24 05:45am

Dark Hellion wrote:My idiocy over, I agree whole heartedly with what Mr. Wong states.

Hellion, take your blowjob attempts at Mike to the HOS please, where the
horsemen can properly treat it for what it is.

Dark Hellion · Post by **Dark Hellion** » 2003-12-24 06:24pm

Wait, a minute, agreeing is wrong on this board now? Maybe they should put this in the announcements. If you didn't notice the entire paragraph afterwords were I expanded upon the idea stated previously by Mr. Wong, here it is again, in a simpler english.
Mr. Wong states that the French died because of their stupidity, and that AC is not really needed by most people. I said, I agree, and that AC, while not needed, is not really a needless luxury, as 100+ degree weather is very uncomfortable, something I am sure you would agree with.
Wow, I am such a bad person, beacause I state I agree with others.