A study published in the journal Nature Sustainability warns that nearly 3.8 billion people worldwide could be exposed to extreme heat by 2050, as a consequence of rising global average temperatures and climate change.
The research analyzed different warming scenarios and assessed how many people could face dangerously high or low temperatures in the coming decades.
According to the researchers, the demand for cooling systems is expected to increase sharply in populous countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, and Nigeria, where hundreds of millions of people still lack air conditioning or other adequate means to cope with the heat.
Even traditionally cooler regions, such as Canada, Russia, and Finland, could suffer significant impacts from a relatively moderate increase in hot days, as they are not prepared for these conditions.
The study indicates that if the global average temperature rises by 2°C above pre-industrial levels, the population exposed to extreme heat will almost double by mid-century.
Much of this impact is expected to occur this decade, as the planet approaches the 1.5°C warming limit.
For the authors, adapting to extreme heat has become more urgent than previously estimated, requiring rapid investments in infrastructure, such as sustainable cooling solutions and passive cooling systems. Prolonged exposure to extreme temperatures poses serious health risks, potentially causing anything from dizziness and headaches to organ failure and death. Increasingly longer and more intense heat waves exacerbate this situation, making access to cooling a crucial factor.
(By MozaVibe)
