Global warming killing funeral business in Australia — Warmer weather brings fewer flu death

9 News (Australia) reports:

Business is far from booming, as unseasonably warm weather has meant fewer deaths and funerals, and contributed to the slowest winter season in 25 years.

“We’ve seen the biggest drop in business in a generation,” Andrew Smith, chief executive of InvoCare, the largest private funeral, cemetery and crematorium operator in the Asia-Pacific region told Fairfax media.

“Winter is usually our busiest time, but there’s been no real flu season this year and no real cold snaps, and that’s being reflected in a big drop in business.”

There’s been a 10 to 15 percent drop in the death rate in NSW, which has impacted the funeral industry considerably. And considering the average cost of a funeral in Australia is $9000, that’s a huge hit for those working in the industry.

Wollongong mortician Warwick Hansen has been in the funeral industry for 47 years. “It’s probably the slowest winter I’ve ever seen,” he told Fairfax media.

Talking to other people in the industry, suppliers and coffin makers, they are all saying they have been affected.

http://finance.ninemsn.com.au/newsbusiness/aap/8711075/business-dead-as-undertakers-struggle-with-weather