Two-thirds of the fatalities occurred in unheated homes or during and after hospitalisation, while the remainder occurred outdoors.

The Hungarian Social Forum reported on Wednesday that there is a rising trend of fatal hypothermia cases compared to last year.

Last September, the group called on the government to provide fuel for hundreds of thousands of people in need.

It warned that fatal hypothermia is not only caused by freezing: relatively low temperatures are enough to cause someone who is weakened or ill to freeze to death.

MTI Photo