New Delhi: By 2050, there will be more than 245 million older adults in the world who will be exposed to dangerously intense heat, with people living in Asia and Africa likely to experience the most severe impacts, new research has estimated. Is.
The worldwide population is aging at an "unprecedented rate", the researcher said, adding that the number of people over the age of 60 is expected to double to about 210 crore by 2050, more than two-thirds of whom are lower-middle income. Live in countries with. ,
These regions are particularly vulnerable to extreme events caused by climate change.
The team, which included researchers from the Euro-Mediterranean Center o Climate Change, Italy, analyzed trends in exposure of people of different age groups around the world to extremely high temperatures.
"By 2050, more than 23 percent of the global population over the age of 69 will live in a climate with extreme heat exposure above the critical threshold of 37.5 degrees Celsius, compared with 14 percent in 2020," the authors wrote in the study." Published in the journal Nature Communications.
The researchers found that an increase of 177-246 million older adults could be exposed to dangerously intense heat. He also presented weak population figures, particularly for Asia.
"The largest absolute numbers are projected for Asia, where persons aged 69 years and older will reach between 588-748 million (more than a threefold increase from the current 239 million)," the authors wrote.
Climate change directly threatens public health as heat waves become more intense, longer and more frequent.Older adults are particularly at risk for serious outcomes, the authors said, because they have an increased susceptibility to hyperthermia (abnormally high body temperature), a common health condition that worsens when exposed to heat. Is.
The researchers said areas with aging populations and exposure to increasing heat may face "considerable demands for social health services" and will require new policy interventions.
Despite extensive research confirming the individual-level effects of extreme heat on the health and mortality risk of older adults, less attention has been paid to population-level assessments of heat exposure, they said.
The authors said the findings could be useful for health assessments and climate change adaptation-planning.
The worldwide population is aging at an "unprecedented rate", the researcher said, adding that the number of people over the age of 60 is expected to double to about 210 crore by 2050, more than two-thirds of whom are lower-middle income. Live in countries with. ,
These regions are particularly vulnerable to extreme events caused by climate change.
The team, which included researchers from the Euro-Mediterranean Center o Climate Change, Italy, analyzed trends in exposure of people of different age groups around the world to extremely high temperatures.
"By 2050, more than 23 percent of the global population over the age of 69 will live in a climate with extreme heat exposure above the critical threshold of 37.5 degrees Celsius, compared with 14 percent in 2020," the authors wrote in the study." Published in the journal Nature Communications.
The researchers found that an increase of 177-246 million older adults could be exposed to dangerously intense heat. He also presented weak population figures, particularly for Asia.
"The largest absolute numbers are projected for Asia, where persons aged 69 years and older will reach between 588-748 million (more than a threefold increase from the current 239 million)," the authors wrote.
Climate change directly threatens public health as heat waves become more intense, longer and more frequent.Older adults are particularly at risk for serious outcomes, the authors said, because they have an increased susceptibility to hyperthermia (abnormally high body temperature), a common health condition that worsens when exposed to heat. Is.
The researchers said areas with aging populations and exposure to increasing heat may face "considerable demands for social health services" and will require new policy interventions.
Despite extensive research confirming the individual-level effects of extreme heat on the health and mortality risk of older adults, less attention has been paid to population-level assessments of heat exposure, they said.
The authors said the findings could be useful for health assessments and climate change adaptation-planning.
