Global warming

Heat stress will affect many more elderly people in 2050

Extreme heat stress will cause health problems for up to 250 million more people over the age of 69 in 2050 than today, reports climate economist Giacomo Falchetta from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Laxenburg. Rising temperatures and an increasingly ageing population are to blame.

Older adults are more susceptible to hyperthermia (overheating), Falchetta and his colleagues wrote in the scientific journal "Nature Communications": In addition, common health problems such as cardiovascular diseases worsen in them due to heat exposure. In 2050, however, they will have to suffer twice as many hot days with more than 37.5 degrees Celsius on a global average than today, namely twenty instead of ten. In addition, not only is the temperature rising, but also the number of elderly people.

"The world's population is ageing at an unprecedented rate," say the researchers. "The number of people over 60 is predicted to roughly double by the middle of the 21st century", from 1.1 billion in 2021 to almost 2.1 billion in 2050. The ageing population and increasing heat stress would result in a "significant additional need for social and health services", the scientists explain.