- A scientist said he created a first of its ‘kind composite climate change index’
- He claimed it showed women could see a 10-month drop in life expectancy
- READ MORE: One billion people will die from climate change by 2100, study
Climate change could slash life expectancy by six months, a scientist has claimed.
The new study estimated that rising temperatures and rainfall cycles will lead to the average lifespan dropping by six months – due to direct deaths such as natural disasters, floods and heatwaves, as well as indirect deaths such as mental health problems.
The author used temperature and rainfall data from more than 190 countries over the course of 80 years, finding if temperatures were to warm by two degrees Fahrenheit the average life expectancy would drop by half of a year.
The study cited climate change as causing hunger, nutrition status, diseases, mental health and premature deaths worldwide that contributed to a decrease in lifespan.
However, the expert also noted that women would be hit hardest with 10 months being taken off of their lives.
The new study estimated that rising temperatures and rainfall cycles will lead to the average lifespan dropping by six months – due to direct deaths such as natural disasters, floods and heatwaves, as well as indirect deaths such as mental health problems
The sole author, Amit Roy with Bangladesh’s Shahjalal University and The New School for Social Research in the US, said: ‘The global threat posed by climate change to the well-being of billions underscores the urgent need to address it as a public health crisis.’
Roy, an associate professor, came to his conclusion by analyzing average temperature, rainfall and life expectancy data from 191 countries from 1940 to 2020.
The author created what he called a ‘first-of-its-kind composite climate change index,’ which combined the temperature and rainfall cycles to gauge the overarching severity of climate change.
‘Results indicated that in isolation, a global temperature increase of two degrees Fahrenheit is associated with an average human life expectancy decrease of approximately 0.44 years, or about five months and one week,’ Roy shared in a statement.
The model suggested that if the annual average increased by two degrees Fahrenheit, then the life expectancy at birth was reduced by five months and one week and combined that with rain cycles, it declined by 0.50 years
‘A 10-point increase in the composite climate change index — which accounts for both temperature and rainfall — is expected to decrease the average life expectancy by six months.’
The climate change index uses a standardized framework to compare the climate performance of 63 countries and the EU, which together account for over 90 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
While the researcher published his study on Thursday, the document failed to note when the world will see a drop in average life expectancy.
Roy noted that ‘the global average life expectancy increased significantly between 1960 and 2020 from 55 years to 72 years.’
Males increased from 48 years to 70 years and women from 52 years to 74 years.
The added years were ‘due to access to plentiful and more nutritious food, clean water, better hygiene, and advanced medical care along with innovations in antibiotics and vaccines,’ wrote Roy.
However, data has shown that life expectancy took a dip amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
The global mean annual temperature increased sharply between 1940 and 1990 from 59F to 69F, during the same 80 years measured for the study.
But since 1990, temperatures have dropped by two degrees.
