Heatwaves Are Killing People: The Economist

Europe and the United States are contending with record temperatures. The Economist argues that governments should prepare populations for heat waves which can exacerbate illnesses and produce death tolls equal or greater to floods or storms, albeit over the course of a few days. Fortunately, with accurate and early forecasts, governments can alert people to people to stay indoors, seek cool areas and drink plenty of water. Governments must go a step further to encourage community planning with planting and preserving of trees and other vegetation as well as designing buildings with white walls and roofs as well as insulation that help control temperatures. “It is a cruel irony that, as with other effects of climate change, the places that are hardest hit by heatwaves can least afford to adapt,” the article notes. “In poor countries, where climates are often hotter and more humid, public-health systems are weaker and preoccupied with other threats.” The article concludes that even if net emission were reduced to zero, the greenhouse gases that fuel heatwaves will linger for decades. – YaleGlobal