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South Africa, World, Our Burning Planet

How climate change will affect us through our lifetime: Part Three (the elderly)

Droughts were reported to reduce the fertility of the soil, reduce harvest quantities and destroy property and livestock, which can devastate older farmers from low- and middle-income countries and increase the risks of malnutrition. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)

By Julia Evans

24 Sep 2024

Climate change is no longer a distant threat. The impacts of climate change are already having effects on our health. This is how older people are more susceptible.

A quarter of a million deaths are predicted between 2030 and 2050 as a result of extreme heat, natural disasters and changing infection patterns due to climate change, according to a special report from the World Health Organization (WHO).

Read more: How climate change will impact us through our lifetime: Part One (maternity and newborns)

Read more: How climate change will impact your lifespan: Part Two (children and teens)

While the impacts of climate change have and will continue to affect the whole of society, certain groups are more vulnerable.

Older people are disproportionately affected by the impacts of climate change due to their age-related vulnerabilities like diminished temperature regulation, pre-existing health conditions and social or mobility challenges. For example, during Hurricane Katrina, 71% of the fatalities were older people, despite their making up only 15% of the population.

climate elderly Older adults are especially at risk during extreme temperatures due to age-related physiological changes, such as a reduced ability to regulate body temperature and sense temperature changes. (Photo: Gallo Images / Foto24 / Lucky Maibi)

“Global warming since the pre-industrial era is unequivocally the consequence of human activities, specifically the release of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, through the burning of fossil fuels,” said Wits professor and climatologist Coleen Vogel.

It is well documented that anthropogenic climate change is causing extreme climate events – such as heat waves, heavy rainfall and droughts – to be more frequent and intense.

Now, a recent collection of papers published in the Journal of Global Health, authored by experts from the WHO and academics from around the world, has documented the available scientific evidence on the health impacts of different climate hazards at key life stages.

The third paper in the collection looks at how climate change poses a risk to the elderly.

Extreme temperatures

The review noted that globally, ambient temperatures have risen by more than 1°C compared with pre-industrial levels, a change primarily driven by human activities.

climate heat elderly Older people often have pre-existing conditions like heart disease, diabetes or asthma, which make them even more vulnerable to heat-related health issues. (Photo: iStock)

This doesn’t mean that every day has been 1°C warmer – “what happens is, because not every single day is hotter, some days are three degrees, or four degrees, hotter than the average”, explains Peter Johnston, a climate scientist at the University of Cape Town.

Read here if you want to learn more about how human activities have contributed to global warming – or if you think it’s climate alarmism.

Professor Francois Engelbrecht, a climatologist and director of the Global Change Institute (GCI) at Wits University, says that there is evidence across the world that heat waves are increasing in frequency and intensity, which could be directly attributed to global warming.

Read more: ‘Heat waves are going to get worse, like nothing we’ve ever seen before’ — SA climatologist

“We are seeing clear evidence that heat wave occurrences have already increased in this part of the world over the last 40 years or so,” he said.

“And the climate models are clear that in the next 20 years, we will see further unprecedented events in terms of heat wave duration and intensity across southern Africa. This is one of the things of climate change that we have complete confidence in.”

So, what does this mean for vulnerable population groups?

climate events elderly Climate events such as floods, droughts and wildfires – which are naturally occurring but are increasing in frequency under climate change – disproportionately affect older people. (Photo: Hoseya Jubase)

The WHO paper found that extreme temperatures significantly impact the health of the elderly due to a combination of physiological vulnerabilities, pre-existing health conditions, and social factors.

Older adults are especially at risk during extreme temperatures due to age-related physiological changes, such as a reduced ability to regulate body temperature and sense temperature changes. This increases the danger of hypothermia or hyperthermia, particularly with prolonged exposure.

Because of this, the WHO’s research found that there’s been a documented rise in morbidity and mortality linked to extreme heat – and this trend is expected to continue in the coming years.

Additionally, older people often have pre-existing conditions like heart disease, diabetes or asthma, which make them even more vulnerable to heat-related health issues. Heatwaves also limit outdoor activities, increasing sedentary behaviour, which can further deteriorate the health of the elderly.

Extreme climate events

Climate events such as floods, droughts and wildfires – which are naturally occurring but are increasing in frequency under climate change – disproportionately affect older people.

The paper found that children, older people, and those with underlying health issues seem to be at higher risk from wildfire pollution compared with other adults.

A study from Brazil found that short-term exposure to fine particles (PM2.5) from wildfires increases the chances of hospital visits for breathing and heart problems.

The highest risk of hospitalisations is seen in children under four years old and adults over 80, with a 4.88% and 3.70% increase in hospital admissions, respectively, for every 10 micrograms per cubic metre (µg/m³) increase in wildfire-related PM2.5. In comparison, adults aged 30-39 had a much smaller increase of just 0.83%.

Research has suggested that this is likely due to weaker immune systems and pre-existing conditions, like asthma, which make these groups more vulnerable to the effects of wildfire smoke.

elderly droughts Droughts were reported to reduce the fertility of the soil, reduce harvest quantities and destroy property and livestock, which can devastate older farmers from low- and middle-income countries and increase the risks of malnutrition. (Photo: Deon Ferreira)

Droughts are another weather event that can devastate older farmers – the paper notes that in northern Ghana, for example, droughts were reported to reduce the fertility of the soil, reduce harvest quantities and destroy property and livestock, which can devastate older farmers from low- and middle-income countries and increase the risks of malnutrition.

Another study found that droughts in Africa may create favourable environments for the spread of the bacteria responsible for cholera. This waterborne disease is especially dangerous for older adults, who have a higher risk of developing waterborne diseases.

Air quality

The paper found that older people are highly susceptible to the effects of poor-quality air.

Studies have shown that as we age, our bodies become less efficient at clearing out small particulate matter from the air we breathe. This is a problem because particulate matter (PM) has been linked to serious health problems, including asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cancer, heart disease, and pneumonia.

One meta-analysis found that older people are 0.64% more likely than younger people to die from short-term exposure to PM.

Climate-sensitive infectious diseases

Climate change is making certain infectious diseases, known as climate-sensitive infectious diseases (CSIDs), more common. These diseases, like malaria and dengue, are influenced by rising temperatures and increased rainfall. The WHO estimates that climate change will be responsible for an additional 60,000 deaths from malaria and dengue by 2030, along with 48,000 more deaths from diarrhoeal diseases worldwide.

One meta-analysis from the paper found that a 1°C increase in global temperatures is linked to higher rates of infections among older adults, though more research is needed to understand the full impact.

This is a problem for older people, who are more prone to certain infections and likely to be diagnosed late due to age-related immunosuppression, being malnourished, or having other health conditions.

Warming temperatures and shifting weather patterns are changing the habitats of disease-carrying insects like mosquitoes and ticks, potentially spreading illnesses such as malaria and Lyme disease into new areas, where older people may be especially at risk. Extreme weather events can also pollute water supplies, triggering outbreaks of waterborne stomach and gut diseases, which hit older people harder due to their sensitivity to dehydration.

Resilience

The paper notes that this age group of people often have less awareness of climate change and more limited resources to learn more and implement adaptation strategies.

Despite these challenges, older adults can play a vital role in climate action through their experience and influence.

The researchers from the paper said, “By actively involving older individuals in conversations about climate change and creating age-friendly environments, we not only have the opportunity to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on healthy ageing but also to transform population ageing into a valuable resource for addressing the most pressing challenge of our time.” DM

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