Top Posts
African climate change projects secure major funding
Former French PM urges China, Europe to unite...
NDDC, FOSDO launch tree-planting campaign to address climate...
WHO unveils an ambitious blueprint for action on...
New report shows nearly 900 million poor people...
Lagos to Host 2025 International Climate Change Summit
New study shows overheating world will add 57...
NAICOM urges W’African insurers to invest in climate...
Climate change: Nigeria, development partners launch Net Zero...
Nigeria launches net zero project to fight climate...
EcoNai Newsroom
  • Newsround
  • Nigeria
  • Africa
  • World
World

Study shows younger people at greater risk of heat-related deaths this century

by admineconai December 9, 2024
written by admineconai December 9, 2024
341

A new research has suggested that extreme heat fueled by the climate crisis is often viewed as primarily a problem for vulnerable segments of the population, such as elderly people. But it is people aged under 35 that are set to suffer the brunt of heat-related deaths as temperatures climb.

The study showed that while older people are susceptible to heatwaves, they currently make up the bulk of cold-related deaths.

As the world heats up, it will be younger people that will suffer disproportionately as the mortality burden shifts, with the new study estimating a 32% increase in deaths of people under 35 years old this century from heat if greenhouse gases emissions aren’t radically cut.

“Most discussion of vulnerability to heat focuses on the elderly, but we found a surprising source of inequality in that most heat mortality is in younger people,” said Andrew Wilson, a Columbia University researcher who led the study, published in Science Advances, with a group of nine other scientists. “We didn’t think we’d find this.”

The study is based on data drawn from deaths in Mexico, a country of extensive mortality records and high “wet bulb” temperatures, which is a measurement that factors in humidity to ascertain the heat stress level upon people.

The researchers found that in the two decades until 2019, 75% of deaths from heat occurred among people younger than 35 while, conversely, almost all cold-related deaths were of those older than 50.

Read also: US study finds shows exposure to air pollution increases infertility risk

As most temperature-related deaths in Mexico, like in most countries, currently occur due to cold weather, the growing problem of extreme heat is likely to tip the balance towards more younger people dying, the research suggests. This pattern may well be replicated in other countries such as the US and in Europe, Wilson said, due to fundamental similarities in how different age groups react to temperature.

“We are seeing that cold-related deaths will fall, primarily of older individuals, while heat deaths of younger individuals will increase,” he added. “Climate change is here and how we adapt to it will be a very important determinant of human health in the future. We shouldn’t move resources away from older people but we certainly need to think more about the risk faced by younger people.”

There is no single answer as to why there is heightened risk for younger people but researchers said there are likely a number of factors, such as physiological differences – for example, babies are unable to sweat to release heat and are dependent upon caregivers – as well as occupational risks, such as a working age population that toils outdoors while engaged in agricultural labor and construction.

In the US, the Biden administration has spent the past three years formulating the first federal rules to protect workers from extreme heat, although these regulations are likely to be wound back by the incoming president, Donald Trump.

Higher youth mortality from heat in a country like Mexico is influenced by the fact there are more younger people than old in the population as well as risks such as working under the beating sun in fields, said Kristie Ebi, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington, who wasn’t involved in the research.

“However, routine exposure to higher temperatures also increases acclimatization, which should lead to lower risk,” Ebi said, adding that more research was needed to fully understand this pattern and if it extended to other countries.

Story was adapted from the guardian.

0 comment 0 FacebookTwitterPinterestEmail
admineconai

previous post
Expert says plastic waste intensifies global warming
next post
Canada man recovers in hospital after polar bear attacked

Related Posts

Former French PM urges China, Europe to unite...

October 22, 2025

WHO unveils an ambitious blueprint for action on...

October 20, 2025

New report shows nearly 900 million poor people...

October 20, 2025

New study shows overheating world will add 57...

October 16, 2025

Heaviest monsoon in a decade kills 458 people...

October 9, 2025

Council releases first fully electric bin lorry

October 9, 2025

Study shows US asthma inhalers produce same emissions...

October 7, 2025

Pope Leo hits out at climate change critics

October 3, 2025

Protesters seek $5tr payment from fossil fuel companies

October 1, 2025

UN official says climate change displaces up to...

September 30, 2025

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Newsletter

Subscribe my Newsletter for new blog posts, tips & new photos. Let's stay updated!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin
  • Bloglovin
  • Vimeo

@2021 - All Right Reserved. Designed and Developed by Eco-Nai+

EcoNai Newsroom
  • Newsround
  • Nigeria
  • Africa
  • World