December 3, 2018.
Global warming will have disastrous consequences on the health of the most vulnerable. A scientific study points to the urgency of putting in place appropriate health policies.
Nearly 160 million vulnerable people suffered a heat wave in 2017
Most climate scientists agree on this point: in the years to come, global warming will be more and more noticeable and heat waves will multiply in summer. Among the many consequences linked to this phenomenon, a study published in the medical journal The Lancet raises that of the state of health of fragile populations.
According to this publication, these heat waves will make more and more people whose health is already fragile. ” In 2017, more than 157 million vulnerable people over the age of 65 suffered heat waves around the world. That’s 18 million more than in 2016 », Explains this document, entitled Countdown to health and climate change.
Governments failed to grasp the scale of the consequences of global warming
Among the most fragile people, the authors cite those over 65, but also city dwellers, and all those who already suffer from cardiovascular disease, diabetes or chronic respiratory diseases. Geographically, this study highlights the fact that this vulnerability will be more noticeable in Europe, where many elderly people live in cities.
To fight against this weakening of the populations concerned, The Countdown to Health and Climate Change emphasizes the need for appropriate health systems to these new issues and regrets that, for the time being at least, governments have not grasped the magnitude of the problem.
Gaelle Latour
Read also Strong heat: what to do to endure them well?
