European countries should prepare their healthcare systems for periods of extreme heat as seriously as they prepare for pandemics. This was stated to TASS by Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for Europe.

“Hospital preparedness should be treated as seriously as pandemic preparedness: overheated wards, overburdened staff, and failing cooling and information systems are unacceptable in the conditions of a 21st-century European summer,” he said.

“The lessons of this summer are concrete and practical. Early warning systems save lives only if they are automatically followed by decisive public health measures, and not just recommendations for the public,” the expert noted. As examples of such measures, he cited checks on the condition of the most vulnerable citizens, cooling public spaces, and adjusting the work schedules of people employed outdoors.

The WHO European Region—one of the organization’s six regions—brings together 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, including Russia, Turkey, the countries of the Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.