Number of deaths in England and Wales for August revealed
The monthly rates of death for England and Wales for August 2022 have been released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Figures show there were 45,393 deaths recorded in England and Wales, which is below the monthly average for 2022 which stands at 47,350.
In September 2022, the ONS figures showed there were 42,614 deaths registered in England, 4,236 deaths (11.0%) above the September five-year average (2016 to 2019, and 2021); there were 2,779 deaths registered in Wales, 234 deaths (9.2%) above the September average.
The leading cause of death in both England and Wales in September 2022 was again shown to be dementia and Alzheimer’s disease (11.4% of all deaths in England and 10.5% of all deaths in Wales).
According to the statistics, coronavirus (COVID-19) was the 12th leading cause of death in September 2022 in England (accounting for 1.8% of all deaths) and the 10th leading cause of death in Wales (2.1% of all deaths).
Accounting for the population size and age structure, the age-standardised mortality rate (ASMR) for deaths due to COVID-19 was found to have decreased significantly between August and September 2022 in England (from 30.5 to 16.7 deaths per 100,000 people); the ASMR also decreased in Wales (from 29.6 to 19.9 deaths per 100,000 people), but this was not significant.
The year-to-date (January to September) ASMR in 2022 in both England (936.9 deaths per 100,000 people) and Wales (1,011.1 deaths per 100,000 people) was significantly lower than most years since the ONS data time series began in 2001.
In Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2022, symptoms, signs and ill-defined conditions (which includes “old age” and “frailty”) remained the most common pre-existing condition mentioned on death certificates for deaths due to COVID-19 in England and Wales (26.7% of all deaths due to COVID-19).
Is climate change leading to extra deaths?
Figures from the ONS revealed that in June to August 2022, 56,303 deaths occurred during heat-periods in England and Wales. To date, 3,271 excess deaths were recorded during heat-periods in 2022 in England and Wales. This is an average of 82 excess deaths per day, and 6.2% higher than the five-year average.
The heat-period with the largest number of excess deaths was H2 (10 to 25 July) with 2,227 excess deaths (10.4% above average), an average of 139 excess deaths per day. It remains to be seen the impact climate change will have on excess deaths in winter.
