*[Enwl-eng] Who heatwaves hit hardest

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      It’s been hard to keep up with all the heatwaves this week. China has 
had its highest ever temperature of 52.2°C, and records are being threatened 
right across southern Europe. An airport in Iran clocked a “feels like” 
temperature of 66°C thanks to intense heat combined with very humid air from 
the nearby Persian Gulf. Much of the US is being blasted by extreme heat and 
Phoenix, Arizona, has had 19 consecutive days above 110°F (43.3°C), while 
tourists are gathering in Death Valley, California, which may soon break the 
all-time world temperature record.

      You’re reading the Imagine newsletter – a weekly synthesis of academic 
insight on solutions to climate change, brought to you by The Conversation. 
I’m Will de Freitas, Energy & Environment Editor of The Conversation, 
covering for my colleague Jack Marley who is in Italy (and not enjoying the 
40°C weather). This week, we’ll look at extreme heat and how it is 
experienced in extremely different ways depending on where people are, what 
they do, and what resources they have access to.

      We know that things are getting worse. In a piece on the current 
European heatwave, Emma Hill and Ben Vivian point out that Intergovernmental 
Panel on Climate Change data “shows an increase in the frequency and 
magnitude of extreme weather events since the 1950s. A separate analysis of 
European heatwaves [by Czech scientists] revealed an increasing severity of 
such events over the past two decades.”

      The climate models may even be underestimating the likelihood of the 
very hottest days. Oxford climate scientist Matthew Patterson recently 
looked at five decades of data and found that “north-west Europe has seen 
its hottest days warm by around 0.6℃ per decade – double the rate at which 
the region’s average summer days have warmed”. Another climate scientist, 
writing about “statistically impossible” heatwaves that have happened 
recently, says that “policymakers across the globe should prepare for 
exceptional heatwaves that would be deemed implausible based on current 
records”.

      But these heat extremes do not affect everyone equally. Right now, 
50°C is a lot more disastrous for builders in Iran or elderly people in 
Sicily, for instance, than it is for Death Valley climate catastrophe 
tourists in air conditioned cars.

      Laurie Parsons is a geographer who studies the socio-economic impact 
of climate change. He says heat stress is a matter of inequality and the 
risk is “unevenly spread”:

        People living in poorer neighbourhoods face a higher risk of heat 
stress (when the body struggles to regulate its internal temperature) than 
those living in richer ones, relatively disadvantaged people are more likely 
to acquire health problems from excess heat than those who are not. This is 
due to several intersecting factors, from poorer overall health and hotter 
working conditions – often involving more physical labour outdoors – to 
fewer trees and parks in less wealthy areas and fewer homes with air 
conditioning and good insulation.

      Research by academics in Australia can give us a sense of which 
workers might be most affected by a heatwave. They looked at ten years of 
compensation claims during extremely hot temperatures in the city of 
Adelaide and found workers at higher risk included:

        a.. animal and horticultural workers
        b.. cleaners
        c.. food service workers
        d.. metal workers
        e.. warehouse workers.
      It’s fairly obvious why those groups are at risk: they either work 
outdoors, or do heavy physical work indoors, often in already hot 
environments. What’s less obvious is why older people are at such risk.

      Hill and Vivian mention two of Europe’s worst so-called “natural” 
disasters of this century: “In 2003, a heatwave swept across Europe, 
claiming the lives of over 70,000 people. Then, in 2022, another heatwave 
hit Europe, resulting in the deaths of almost 62,000 people.” A study 
published in Nature Medicine this month found that people aged 80 or more 
made up more than half (36,848) of the 2022 deaths across the continent. 
Parsons notes that of the 3,271 excess deaths in the UK, “most occurred in 
care homes”.

      Public health researchers Sarah Cunningham and Sharon Rutherford 
suggest this is partly down to physiology:

        As we get older, we tend to not “feel” the heat as much even though 
our bodies are less able to handle the heat. This contradiction can have 
lethal consequences, especially during periods of extreme heat.
      They highlight some key reasons we’re more susceptible to heat as we 
get older including:

        a.. bodily changes: older people are less able to lose excess heat 
through their skin
        b.. social isolation: many older people live alone or don’t have 
anyone checking on them
        c.. medical conditions: conditions such as heart failure and 
diabetes are more common with age and are associated with increased heat 
risk.
      So if we know which demographics and occupations are most at risk, 
what can we do about it? (Other than “stop emitting carbon”, obviously.)

      Parsons, the geographer, suggests that “Things as simple as a fan or a 
break from work can prevent heat deaths.” The public health researchers also 
mention regular drinks and cold showers, and opening windows when they’re 
facing away from the sun and otherwise keeping blinds drawn, among other 
things.

      But as Parsons says, “being able to access even these basic measures 
is unequally distributed”. To help workers, he suggests:

        Labour statutes must be rewritten to combat heat stress, including 
maximum working temperatures and longer breaks on the very hot days that are 
an increasingly common feature of the UK’s climate.

      And that’s just in the UK, where we have relatively little exposure to 
the most dangerous temperatures. Other places will have to do even more. 
Ultimately it looks like almost every country in the world will have to 
adapt to at least some dangerously hot weather.

      Parsons again:

        Policy action at every level of political and social life is 
necessary, including wages, housing, healthcare and adult social care. Since 
heat deaths are an expression of economic inequality, no form of climate 
adaptation is likely to be more effective than making poor people less poor.


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      European heatwave: what’s causing it and is climate change to blame?

      Europe is gripped by a heatwave called Cerberus - it may be a sign of 
things to come.

      Read more


       How inequality shapes your experience of a heatwave

      Tackling poverty can protect people from rising heat extremes in 
Britain and abroad.

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       As heatwaves become more extreme, which jobs are riskiest?

      As the climate changes and heatwaves become more frequent and severe, 
it's vital we do more to understand who is most vulnerable and how we can 
reduce their risk.

      Read more

       5 reasons to check on your elderly neighbour during a heatwave

      Here's why it's important to keep an eye on older family and friends 
this summer.

      Read more

       Hottest days are warming twice as fast as average summer temperature 
in north-west Europe – new research

      Hot days are getting hotter in north-west Europe -- and the region is 
poorly equipped to cope.

      Read more


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      From: Imagine newsletter
      Sent: Wednesday, July 19, 2023 8:02 PM
      Subject: Who heatwaves hit hardest


 
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