Large areas of the Earth will be too hot for humans if we hit 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels, according to new study

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Large areas of the planet may become too hot to be habitable during extreme heat events. Researchers say that even healthy young humans would struggle to maintain a safe body temperature if we hit 2 degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels in a new study that examines a 'worst-case' scenario. An international group of scientists has found that an area the size of the United States would become too hot during extreme heat events for even healthy young humans. And for older people who are more vulnerable to heat, the news is even worse. "So, with just two degrees Celsius warming, what we showed that even for young, healthy adults, an area about the landmass of the U.S. would actually become uninhabitable from a heat stress point of view. But when we extend that to elderly individuals who have a lower thermoregulatory capacity to control their body temperature, that extended to over a third of the landmass with just two degrees Celsius of warming. So, this is some quite alarming data really," explains Josh Foster, co-author of the study and a lecturer in human environmental physiology at King’s College London. An estimated 260,000 people have died as a result of heat events since 2000, according to the researchers. But some parts of the world are more vulnerable than others. "These types of issues aren't necessarily centered on their own quite specific areas because there are some areas like Bangladesh and Pakistan that are much more vulnerable to high levels of humid heat. But then we also have to focus on drier climates, so the Sahara, some parts of Western Europe which are more prone to extreme levels of dry heating," says Foster. Between 1994-2023, only two percent of land reached a point where the combination of temperature and humidity was too high for adults under 60 to physically cope. The figure rose to more than 20 percent of land for those over 60. This article was provided by The Associated Press.