Climate Change Effect: Human Lifespan May Be Reduced By 6 Months

New Delhi: Climate change is taking a heavy toll on planet Earth. Even human beings won’t be spared.

Average human lifespan may be reduced by six months, according to a study which found that women and individuals in developing nations are disproportionately affected, reported PTI.

The findings of the study, published in PLOS Climate journal, was based on average temperature, rainfall and life expectancy data from 191 countries spanning 60 years (1940-2020).

Besides measuring isolated impacts of temperature and rainfall, researchers devised a unique composite climate change index combining the two variables to gauge overarching severity of climate change.

The results indicate that in isolation, a global temperature increase of 1 degree Celsius is associated with an average human life expectancy decrease of approximately 0.44 years, or about six months and one week.

A 10-point increase in composite climate change index — which accounts for temperature and rainfall – can bring down the average life expectancy by six months.

“The global threat posed by climate change to the well-being of billions underscores the urgent need to address it as a public health crisis, as revealed by this study,” said Amit Roy of Shahjalal University of Science & Technology in Bangladesh and The New School for Social Research, US.

The study reiterated that “mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and proactive initiatives are essential to safeguard life expectancy and protect the health of populations worldwide.”

Temperature and rainfall — two major signals of climate change — cause a wide range of public health concerns, from the acute and direct (natural disasters like flooding and heat waves) to the indirect yet equally devastating (respiratory and mental illnesses), the researchers said.

They are hopeful that the composite climate change index will standardise global conversation about climate change, become a usable metric for the non-scientific public and encourage collaboration and even friendly competition among countries to combat the impacts of climate change.