First of 2 parts
As extreme heat grips many countries and becomes “the new normal,” the UN Environment Program (UNEP) warns of heightened health risks for older persons in the Frontiers 2025 Report published recently.
Other highlighted impacts of climate change include the melting of glaciers that reawaken ancient pathogens and floods that risk releasing dangerous chemicals.
The 7th edition of the Frontiers Report, The Weight of Time―Facing a new age of challenges for people and ecosystems, is part of UNEP’s Foresight Trajectory initiative and highlights emerging environmental issues as well as potential solutions.
The first edition in 2016, warned of the growing risk of zoonotic diseases, four years before the COVID-19 pandemic. This report is released as communities across China, Japan, India, Europe, USA and elsewhere face weeks of extreme heat and flooding.
“Heat waves are among the most frequent and deadly impacts of climate change, along with floods and shrinking ice cover,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of UNEP.
“We must be prepared for the risks these impacts pose, especially for society’s most vulnerable, including older persons. Yet as this year’s Frontiers Report shows, solutions exist that can help protect communities and restore ecosystems long-thought to have been lost,” she said.
Adults aged 65 and above now form an increasingly dominant part of the world population, particularly in urban areas of low- and middle-income countries.
The report notes that annual heat-related deaths among older persons have risen by an estimated 85 percent since the 1990s. Additional risks arise from deteriorating air quality and floods in low-lying coastal cities where older persons live.
Older persons―especially those with chronic illnesses, limited mobility or frailty―are particularly vulnerable to heat-related health issues, including respiratory, cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, as well as increased mortality.
(To be continued) UNEP News
