Portugal reports more than 1,000 heat-related deaths

View of Prazeres cemetery in Lisbon, Portugal, July 19, 2022. REUTERS/Pedro Nunes

LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal has reported more than 1,000 deaths due to the current heat wave, with the health chief warning on Tuesday that the country must gear up to cope with the effects of climate change as temperatures continue to rise.

"Portugal ... is among one of the areas of the globe that could be (more) affected by extreme heat," Graça Freitas, head of health authority DGS, told Reuters. "We have to be more and more prepared for periods of high temperatures."