Which Countries Could Soon Experience Heat That Surpass Human Tolerance?
By the end of the century, climate change is expected to expose up to 2.2 billion people in India’s Indus Valley and Pakistan to several hours of heat that surpass human tolerance.
According to a new study, warming of the planet beyond 1.5C above pre-industrial levels will be increasingly devastating for human health across the globe.
As the raging climate emergency pushes temperatures higher across the globe, billions of people could be pushed beyond these limits, researchers noted.
How Far Is World To Meeting Paris Agreement Goals?
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, when humans started to burn fossil fuels, temperatures around the world have increased by about 1C.
In 2015, 196 countries signed a landmark Paris Agreement which aims to limit worldwide temperature increases to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Although a number of nations have been ramping up power generation from renewable sources, they have also been constantly adding polluting carbon emissions into the atmosphere.
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The Specific Threshold For Any Person At Any Specific Moment
Humans can only withstand certain combinations of heat and humidity before their bodies begin to experience heat-related health problems.
Nonetheless, in addition to temperature and humidity, the specific threshold for any person at a specific moment also depends on other environmental factors and their exertion level.
Results of the study indicate if temperatures rise beyond 2C above pre-industrial levels, people in Southeast Asia and sub-Saharan Africa will experience many hours of unbearable heat.
Many Of The Affected May Not Have Access To Air Conditioning
The aforementioned regions would primarily experience high-humidity heatwaves, which can be more dangerous because the air cannot absorb excess moisture.
The researchers said these regions are also in lower-to-middle income countries, so many of the affected individuals may not have access to air conditioning.
At current levels of heating, the US will experience more heatwaves – which are not predicted to surpass human limits as often as in other regions of the world. But things could always change.
