Faster rate of global warming could cause tens of thousands more deaths in China each year, study warns
- Research warns that if average increase in global temperatures reaches 2C there may be 27,000 more heat-related deaths compared with rise of 1.5C
- Study highlights China’s increased vulnerability to warming process and urges authorities to find ways to help people to adapt
China could see more than 27,000 additional heat-related deaths each year in its cities if the world’s temperature rises by just half a degree above the UN baseline of 1.5C, a new study has warned.
The research, published in the journal Nature Communications on Tuesday, warned that China would experience a faster rate of warming than the global average and this could increase the population’s vulnerability to heatwaves.
“The heat-related health risk will probably be aggravated in future,” the study said and urged the authorities to develop new adaptive measures to mitigate the risk.
The new research looked at heat-related deaths in Chinese cities between 1986 and 2005 – also taking into account factors such as the age of the population and levels of socio-economic development – and used the data to calculate the respective impact of an average increase in global temperatures of 1.5C and 2C compared with pre-industrial levels.