Three-quarters of the world's population can suffer deadly heat

Billions of people around the world will face deadly heat waves by the end of the 21st century if greenhouse gases continue to rise.

More than 1,900 locations around the world have died from the hot weather since 1980, according to research by Camilo Mora, professor at the University of Hawaii, Manoa, USA, published in Nature Climate Change magazine on 19 / 6.

The 2010 heat wave claimed the lives of 10,800 people in Moscow, Russia. In 2003, about 4,900 people died in Paris, France as well due to the hot and Independent weather.

Picture 1 of Three-quarters of the world's population can suffer deadly heat
Heatwaves will continue to increase at the end of this century.(Photo: Tom Wang).

The team estimates that one-third of the world's population suffers from 20 or more deadly heat days in 2000. By the end of the 21st century, this number will increase to 74% if CO 2 effects greenhouses continue to remain high. Even if the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions is well implemented, we still have to see more than 47% of the population affected by deadly heat waves in 2100.

The climate on Earth changes so quickly that people cannot evolve to endure high temperatures. Global warming is constantly increasing, human activity makes climate change 170 times more than other natural causes.

"We are short of choices for the future. For the heat waves, our choices are now between bad and bad. Models show that this will continue and get worse. worse if emissions don't drop sharply, " said Professor Mora.

The average temperature of the human body is about 37 degrees C. When the heat is hot, the body cools itself by sweating. However, if the heat is combined with high humidity, sweat cannot evaporate because the air is saturated with water vapor, causing body temperature to rise to a life-threatening level.

"The consequences of being exposed to lethal climatic conditions will be exacerbated by an aging population. The elderly are very vulnerable to the heat , " Mora wrote.