Heat stress from extreme heat and humidity will annually affect areas now home to 1.2 billion people by 2100, assuming current greenhouse gas emissions, according to a Rutgers study.
That’s more than four times the number of people affected today, and more than 12 times the number who would have been affected without industrial era global warming.
The research is published in the journal Environmental Research Letters.
Rising global temperatures are increasing exposure to heat stress, which harms human health, agriculture, the economy and the environment. Most climate studies on projected heat stress have focused on heat extremes but not considered the role of humidity, another key driver.
Read more at Rutgers University
Photo Credit: geralt via Pixabay