Extreme heat is linked to a wide range of health problems, which are diagnosed by doctors in hospital emergency departments, ranging from the well-known cases of dehydration and heatstroke to skin conditions and injuries from traffic accidents. At the same time, up to 590 million children aged nine and under worldwide experience heat stress every year due to climate change. These findings come from two studies published in the journal *Science Advances*.
Heat-related illnesses are difficult to track, as medical records typically describe only the condition for which the patient is being treated, without noting whether heat may have contributed to its onset. A study by Northwestern University adopted an innovative approach, inspired by methods used in genomics research.
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The researchers studied 1,803 diagnoses from nearly one million visits to emergency departments and urgent care centers in Chicago, between 2011 and 2023. During this period, there were 100 days of extreme heat (with temperatures of 33.7°C and above).
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The analysis identified 33 diagnoses linked to exposure to extreme heat, many of which were unexpected or have been studied very little. Among the diagnoses linked to heat were skin rashes and swelling, acute kidney failure, multiple sclerosis, mental and behavioral disorders, insect bites and stings, traffic accidents, and even aggressive behavior and firearm-related injuries.
“Previous research has shown that when people are exposed to extreme heat, they often exhibit more aggressive behavior, so this may be a contributing factor to the findings. When it’s very hot, the body is under stress, but so is the mind. “This can cause distraction or increase irritability, which may lead to more accidents,” notes one of the study’s authors, Daniel Horton, associate professor of Earth, Environmental, and Planetary Sciences at Northwestern University.
The study’s findings suggest that efforts to prepare for climate change may need to take many different forms and account for a broader range of health impactsthan is currently recognized, the authors note.
A second study published in the same journal estimated that up to 560 million children aged nine and under worldwide, that is, 43% of all children in this age group, experience at least one month (30 or more days) of heat stress due to human-induced climate change.
The study focuses on humid heat (a combination of high temperature and high humidity), which is considered more dangerous than dry heat, as high humidity hinders sweat evaporation and, consequently, the body’s ability to dissipate heat and cool itself. This can lead to dangerous levels of heat stress.
Children are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat, as their bodies heat up faster than those of adults, their sweating mechanism is not as effective, and they rely on adult care for their protection. Overheating can pose serious health risks, such as dehydration and dangerous heatstroke, and can also affect learning and cognitive development.
Climate change has nearly tripled the number of children worldwide who are exposed to a total of at least five months—or 150 days—of heat stress. In a world without climate change, this number would amount to 120 million children, or 9% of all children. Today, however, it stands at 350 million, or 27%.
The international team of researchers, led by Vrije Universiteit Brussel, found that children’s exposure to extreme heat is greater than that of any other age group and nearly three times higher than that of the 190 million people aged 6to 69 years old who face the same additional health threat. Children, therefore, are already disproportionately exposed to dangerous wet-heat conditions caused by human-induced climate change, and their exposure is expected to increase further as global temperatures continue to rise.
According to projected climate change scenarios for global warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius and 2 degrees Celsius, the number of children aged nine and under who will be exposed to at least one month of dangerous heat is expected to rise to 620 million (49% of children) in the 1.5°C scenario and to 650 million (59%) in the 2°C scenario.
According to the study’s data, in the Mediterranean today, 13.2 million children (19% of all children) are exposed to at least one month of heat stress, and this number is expected to reach 15.8 million (26%) under a 1.5-degree Celsius temperature increase scenario and 21.1 million children (40%) under a 2-degree Celsius scenario.
Increases in heat stress are observed in tropical regions and in the poorest countries, where the population is younger and, consequently, a larger number of children are affected. South and Southeast Asia and West Africa are the regions with the largest number of children currently exposed to dangerous heat stress.
Source: KYPE
