Expect 350 Million More People To Suffer Heat Stress by 2050
2050 isn’t that far off. I might even live that long myself. But I’d be among the old, young and infirm that are certain to suffer from heat stress, potentially killing millions.
An analysis of 44 of the 101 most populous “megacities” showed that the number of cities experiencing heat stress doubled with 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) of warming, researchers reported.
That trend would potentially expose more than 350 million additional people to heat stress by 2050, if population continues to grow as expected, the study authors said.
It’s been raining all month here (when it didn’t snow) with just a couple of days of decent sunshine. The increased atmospheric vapor falling as rain and snow is caused by a warming planet. The ground around here is extremely saturated. There was a massive mudslide that nearly killed a father and son, and the river is at flood stage already.
It’s not just heat stress that the world needs to be concerned about, but what all the extra water does when it comes down. And how this extra heat, flooding, and cycles of drought will affect global food production and economic activity.
Think I’m kidding? It’s being studied right now and it does not look good: Farming becoming riskier under climate change. The models studied suggest that the typical planting window for corn will no longer be workable; April and May will be far too wet to work the fields. That’s a huge loss of a global staple crop. And this is just one of the factors being considered elsewhere. Under study is drought, aquifer depletion, pests, disease vectors, temperature variations, pollination and soil depletion, every one in worsening conditions world-wide.
I’ve been accused of being too negative, but honestly, I don’t think I’m wrong about the future at all. So far, I’m on track with what the future will be.
