Hypothermia: why most deaths are preventable

New research into the cold weather killer suggests health authorities need to start taking action much earlier in the season

Earlier this month the cold snap across Europe claimed more than 60 lives. In Poland temperatures fell to below -30C in some regions and 10 people died of the cold on 8 January alone. Meanwhile in Greece and Turkey refugees and homeless people suffered greatly in the unseasonably heavy snow. The sad thing is that almost all of these deaths were preventable.

Every winter hypothermia extends its icy grip, causing 25,000 extra deaths per year in England for example. A decrease in air temperature of 1C causes a 1.35% increase in mortality across Europe, and added up over the years, cold weather has caused far more deaths than any single heatwave event.