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英国一个慈善团体日前发出警告说，今年冬天英国国内将有大约2万名65岁以上的老年人因寒冷引发的疾病而死亡。
据英国《每日邮报》10月24日报道，英国老龄关心协会日前表示，到明年3月份寒冷季节结束之前，该国每小时将有8名靠养老金生活的人因患与寒冷有关的疾病而死亡。
英国政府天气预报机构Met Office曾发出警告说，英国今年将遭遇冷冬，因此因寒冷而死亡的人数可能比往年还要多一些。英国老龄关心协会称，英国是欧洲各国中冬季死亡率最高的国家之一。与其它几个天气更为寒冷的国家（如芬兰和奥地利）相比，英国老年人患肺炎等疾病的危险要更高一些。
该慈善团体还表示，那些生命受到寒冷威胁的人通常是靠养老金独自生活的老人。该团体负责人戈登·里斯曼说：“每年冬天，都有如此之多的老年人被迫处于危险之中，这是一个国家的耻辱。”
“英国差不多有240万老年人生活在冷得足以致病的房子里，这是令人无法接受的。”他还说：“在冬季的几个月中，我们需要为这些老年人做更多的事情，以便他们能住上更暖和的屋子而不用担心费用问题。”
报道说，该慈善机构同时还谴责了英国的高取暖费、低住房标准和低收入等有关问题。
Eight pensioners will die from a cold-related illness every hour this winter, a charity has warned.
A total of 20,000 people over 65 across Britain will have died by the time the cold season is over in March, Age Concern said.
The Met Office has warned of a harsh winter this year and there could be even more deaths than usual.
Britain has one of the highest rates of winter deaths in Europe with older people at greater risk of illnesses such as pneumonia than in colder countries such as Finland or Austria, Age Concern said.
The charity blamed high heating costs, poor housing standards and low incomes.
Those most at risk tend to be pensioners living alone.
Age Concern director-general Gordon Lishman said: "It's a national scandal that so many older people over 65 are put at risk every winter.
"Almost 2.4million older people in Britain live in homes that are cold enough to cause illness and this is just unacceptable.
"More needs to be done for older people during the winter months so that they can heat their homes adequately without worrying about the cost.
"It is essential that older people keep warm during the winter.
"We would urge that older people make sure that their home is heated properly. Dressing well and keeping active is another way to keep warm, and eating good meals will provide energy throughout the day."
Age Concern called on the Government to increase the basic state pension to at least ?109 a week to allow pensioners to heat their homes.
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