How climate change may affect health risk alerts in the UK

What is it about?

A heatwave is a period during which the maximum daily temperature exceeds regional limits. Climate change will lead to more heatwaves and fewer cold spells in the United Kingdom. To minimize their negative effects, public health alerts are issued across the UK. In a study, authors assessed the effect of climate change on these health risk alerts.

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Photo by Lucian Dachman on Unsplash

Photo by Lucian Dachman on Unsplash

Why is it important?

Extreme temperature alerts help us identify measures like social outreach or healthcare management in advance. However, they do not instantly affect human well being. For example, the south and east of England are seeing a huge rise in these alerts. Alerts issued because of heatwaves affect productivity. The frequency of such alerts is likely to double by the 2020s. An increase in the duration and overall intensity of these alerts is likely as well. The authors mention that an increase in emissions may cause a similar increase in heatwave related alerts until the 2040s. However, future increases in global emissions may directly affect the recurrence of such alerts by the 2050s. Countries with higher emissions are more likely to get affected than those with lower overall emissions. KEY TAKEAWAY: We need to identify the causes of extreme temperatures in order to be prepared for them. More studies and strategic changes in emergency public health plans for extreme temperatures are required across the United Kingdom.