Humans Responsible For Over a Third of Heat Deaths Due to Global Warming

Over one-third of the heat-related mortality rate between 1991 and 2018 globally were found to have attributed by human-made climate change, 37% of which were stimulated by human activities.

A new study led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM) published in Nature Climate Change journal data of heat-related deaths from 732 locations all over the globe in 43 different countries. For the first time, the study revealed how anthropogenic activities accumulated climate change and warmed the planet, contributing to multiple heat-induced deaths.

Researchers hope to separate global warming effects to health induced by human activities from natural trends.

Potential Increase in Heat Deaths

Climate change is a tenure global issue that affected Earth in several ways, from direct impacts such as extreme heat and wildfires, to gradual effects in human health mostly in elder people with existing long-term health conditions and vulnerable heat-related illnesses. With hopes to decrease the mortality and morbidity induced by extreme heat in the future, the team from LSHTM wanted to predict the significant rise in future's climate condition if measures are observed and possibly come up with strong mitigation policies that can reduce collateral damage.

"We expect the proportion of heat-related deaths to continue to grow if we don't do something about climate change or adapt," first author Dr. Ana M. Vicedo-Cabrera from the University of Bern said.

Findings show that an estimate of 37% of all heat deaths in all locations combined were incorporated to human activity, with southern and western Asia (Iran and Kuwait), south-east Asia (the Philippines and Thailand) and Central and South America as the largest climate change contributor of up to 50%.

Senior author Antonio Gasparrini believes that the overall calculation means that human health had long been affected by global warming ever since the earlier stages of climate change, and if taken into account, potentially suggests it can get worse in the future.

"The main message is... you don't have to wait until 2050 to see increases in heat-related deaths," he noted.

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"Mortality is Just the Tip of the Iceberg"

Consistent rise in global temperatures does not just increase death rate but also causes less severe health problems as well such as other cardiovascular or respiratory complications. Dr. Cabrera said these problems has spiked hospital admissions and increasing healthcare costs.

"Mortality ... is just the tip of the iceberg," she said in a statement.

Authors of the study acknowledged limitations in their research specifically in their scope. They were unable to gather and analyze enough empirical data from large parts of Africa and south Asia. However, they still find the results alarming which calls for global action.

Senior research associate Dr. Clare Goodess from the school of environmental sciences at the University of East Anglia explained the importance of cutting off human-caused greenhouse gas emissions that comes primarily from burning fossil fuels. In 2021, fall in carbon emissions was expected to be 7% less due to global pandemic and lockdown, however, the global temperature is still significantly high.

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