By: Sara Schonhardt
Extreme heat could lead to 430,000 additional deaths each year by 2050, with the greatest rise in countries that lack adequate power for air conditioning, according to new research.
The study — from the Climate Impact Lab at the University of Chicago — highlights the central role energy plays in adapting to global warming. It predicts that the greatest number of deaths will occur in places that will experience more extreme heat but lack the energy and resources to harness air conditioning.
That covers 18 countries, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, including Niger, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Somalia.
In Pakistan, for example, 89 percent of the population will face extreme heat but lack access to cooling technologies, leading to potentially 150,000 excess deaths by 2050, according to the study.
“Communities projected to lack sufficient growth in electricity consumption for cooling will be particularly vulnerable,” the report says.
Wealth will be a major determinant, according to the study. Low-income countries are expected to see 10 times as many heat-related deaths as wealthy ones, with poorer communities struggling to pay for the increased electricity consumption that supports market growth. In regions expected to see increasingly extreme heat — such as the Middle East — wealthier economies will use more electricity for cooling than equally hot lower-income countries.
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