14 DAY TRIAL // A team of researchers writing in the scientific journal Nature Climate Change document how climate change will affect heat-related mortality rates in major urban areas.
Focusing on Manhattan, New York and piecing together several models, these specialists reached the conclusion that, because of global warming, the heat-related deaths reported in this area are to increase by as much as 22% by the year 2020.
The researchers predict that, unless measures to curb greenhouse gas emissions and cooling the planet are soon taken, heat-related mortality rates in Manhattan, New York could up by a whopping 80% by the 2080s, Climate Central informs us.
Although this investigation only took into consideration said area in New York City, odds are other metropolitan cities will be affected in roughly the same manner.
“Further warming is expected over the next few decades, with significant regional variations. These warming trends will probably result in more frequent, intense and persistent periods of hot temperatures in summer, and generally higher temperatures in winter,” the researchers write in their paper.
“Daily death counts in cities increase markedly when temperatures reach levels that are very high relative to what is normal in a given location,” they go on to say.
Specialists warn that, when exposed to particularly high temperatures, numerous people experience cardiovascular and respiratory issues.
As well as this, others find that the medical conditions they are already suffering with take a turn for the worse.
Although the increase in winter temperatures is bound to reduce the number of cold-related deaths, the researchers believe that the increase in heat-related deaths could outweigh any benefits that slightly warmer winters might bring forth.
As they explain in their paper, “These results suggest that, over a range of models and scenarios of future greenhouse gas emissions, increases in heat-related mortality could outweigh reductions in cold-related mortality, with shifting seasonal patterns.”