Our warming planet may be linked to more than half a million global stroke deaths and disabilities.
What's happening?
As detailed by MedicalXpress, a study published in Neurology found an association between non-optimal temperatures, both high and low, and increased stroke deaths and disabilities over the past three decades.
The study examined health records for over 200 countries and divided the data into different age groups, genders, and regions. Males had a higher rate of stroke deaths from non-optimal temperatures compared to women. The Central Asia region had the highest rate.
In 2019, 474,002 of the 521,031 stroke deaths were from low-temperature events.
"Our study found that these changing temperatures may increase the burden of stroke worldwide, especially in older populations and areas with more health care disparities," said Dr. Quan Cheng, the study's author.
Why is this research concerning?
Extreme temperature events are becoming all too common, and specific communities, like older people and individuals with health issues, are at risk. The number of older adults exposed to dangerous heat conditions is projected to double by 2050.
More caution needs to be taken for low-temperature events, as well. As the study in MedicalXpress mentions, most of the strokes were from lower-than-optimal temperatures. When temperatures get too cold, a person's blood vessels constrict, and blood pressure increases — a significant stroke risk. Higher temperatures can cause dehydration and slow blood flow in the body. Both situations are deadly.
"More research is needed to determine the impact of temperature change on stroke and to target solutions to address health inequalities," said Cheng.
What's being done about it?
Cities worldwide are creating early-warning systems and opening cooling centers to help cool temperatures. Other cities, like Medellin, planted thousands of trees and plants to create more shade, which resulted in significant cooling.
There are several options you can take to help reduce the amount of planet-warming gases in the air that cause extreme temperature events.
Unplugging unused appliances is one way to eliminate pollution from dirty fuel sources.
Consider changing how you get around, whether that's walking more or switching to an EV — all of which will reduce your climate impact.
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