Heat waves are beginning sooner and can be more powerful this time. Heat waves happen due to climate change, and experts inform they will be early this year. Health complications can be severe. Older people are more vulnerable.
Compared to younger individuals, adults 60 and older have a higher prevalence of chronic illnesses, including diabetes, heart disease, and renal issues.
Older adults are also vulnerable to heat waves due to the medicines they need to take regularly. In addition, high temperatures can exacerbate symptoms since it is more difficult to cool the body as the heat index rises.
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When an unexpected heat wave hit the U.S. Pacific Northwest in the summer of 2021, an unknown number of older adults perished. However, coroners in British Columbia’s neighbor, Canada’s British Columbia, acknowledged that more than 600 individuals died from heat-related causes.
Also, there is a tendency to ignore warnings regarding heat waves. In 2021, heat waves killed more Americans than other natural disasters. Many older people are victims of heat waves.
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Also, the officials are to blame. Experts in disaster management claim that the nation’s present heat warning system is inadequate as heat waves become more frequent, longer, and more powerful due to climate change.
Recent research showed that more than a third of heat-related fatalities in the United States occur due to human-caused global warming. In American communities where people frequently lack air conditioning or are not used to hot weather, it was discovered that there are more than 1,100 heat-related fatalities every year.