FOI Reference: FOI/2022/4322
You asked
Please inform me of how many people in the UK died between Monday 18 July and Tuesday 19 July 2022, in which a contributory or the underlying cause on the death certificate was one of the following:
1. Heat
2. Heatwave
3. Heat exhaustion
4. Heat stroke
5. Sun stroke
6. Weather
7. Unprecedented temperatures
8. Global warming
9. Environmental crisis
10. Climate change
11. Climate crisis
12. Climate cost of living crisis
13. Any other cause of death related to what the UK Health Security Agency has designated a 'Level 4 alert', which it has issued with the following warning:
'We have seen when climate change has driven such unprecedented severe weather events around the world that it can be difficult to make the best decisions because nothing in our life experiences has led us to know what to expect.'
We said
Thank you for your enquiry.
We have not conducted analysis of causes of death for these specific dates, with the exception of COVID-19. However, as part of the Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional we have published daily deaths registered in England and Wales for these dates, and occurrences (date of death) for these dates.
ONS mortality data comes from the information collected at death registration. All of the conditions mentioned on the death certificate are coded using the International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10). From all of these causes an underlying cause of death is selected using ICD-10 coding rules. The underlying cause of death is defined by WHO as:
a) the disease or injury that initiated the train of events directly leading to death, or
b) the circumstances of the accident or violence that produced the fatal injury
We can produce a bespoke request looking at specific causes of death on these dates. Special extracts and tabulations are available to order from the HALE Customer Services Team. However, we would be unable to state if these deaths had occurred to the heatwave as this will not be recorded on the death certificate. Creation of these extracts would fall outside the Freedom of Information Act and are subject to disclosure control, legal frameworks, resources, and agreement to costs under the ONS Charging policy. If you would like to discus further and obtain a quote for this work, please contact the HALE Customer Services Team on Health.Data@ons.gov.uk
You may also be interested in the recent blog by Sarah Caul, Head of Mortality Analysis which investigates deaths during heatwaves. How many people died in the UK's recent heatwave? | National Statistical (ons.gov.uk)
The UK Health Security Agency may also be better placed to assist you. They can be contacted on Informationrights@ukhsa.gov.uk.