Deadly Heat Threatens 2.2 Billion In India And Pakistan
New research warns that climate change by the turn of the century could have dire consequences, triggering heat-related health problems like heart attacks and heat strokes in densely populated regions, including India and the Indus valley.
This interdisciplinary study, conducted by Penn State College of Health and Human Development, Purdue University College of Sciences, and Purdue Institute for a Sustainable Future, and published in the “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,” indicates that if global temperatures rise beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, it will have devastating impacts on human health.
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The human body can only tolerate specific combinations of heat and humidity before experiencing heat-related health issues. The research suggests that if global temperatures increase by 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, a staggering 2.2 billion people in Pakistan and India’s Indus River Valley, 1 billion in eastern China, and 800 million in sub-Saharan Africa will face heat conditions surpassing human tolerance. This includes major cities like Delhi, Kolkata, Shanghai, Multan, Nanjing, and Wuhan.
The situation is exacerbated because many of these areas are in low and middle-income nations, where people may lack access to air-conditioning or other means of cooling.
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If global warming continues to reach 3 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, extreme heat levels could impact regions including the Eastern Seaboard and the central United States, as well as South America and Australia.
Developed nations are expected to suffer less compared to developing nations, where the elderly and vulnerable populations may be at risk. Co-author Matthew Huber, Professor of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at Purdue University, emphasizes that regions with rapid population growth and limited wealth will be hit hardest.
The research underscores the urgency of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning, to curb rising temperatures. Failure to take action could result in the most severe consequences for middle and low-income countries. The interconnectedness of the world means that the impacts of climate change will affect everyone to some degree.
