World To Face Deadly Heatwaves Within Next 80 Years
A paper about the study in the journal Nature Climate Change has claimed that the world is likely to face deadly heatwaves in the next 80 years, effecting nearly three-quarters of the world’s population.
The lead author of the paper, Professor Camilo Mora, of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, said while talking to The Independent claimed that “We are running out of choices for the future.”
“For heatwaves, our options are now between bad or terrible. Many people around the world are already paying the ultimate price of heatwaves, and while models suggest that this is likely to continue, it could be much worse if emissions are not considerably reduced.
“The human body can only function within a narrow range of core body temperatures around 37 degrees Celsius. Heatwaves pose a considerable risk to human life because hot weather, aggravated with high humidity, can raise body temperature, leading to life threatening conditions.”
Pakistan has experienced a surge in heatwaves in recent years, with the recent being in 2015 when temperatures hit as much as 49 °C in southern Pakistan. It led to nearly 2,000 people dying from dehydration and heat stroke. Most of them in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city. Pakistan also went through another heatwave in April 2017, though it led to only 4 deaths.
