- A scientist said he has created a first-of-its-kind ‘composite climate change index’
- He claimed it showed women could see a ten-month drop in life expectancy
- READ MORE: One billion people will die by 2100 due to climate change, study
A scientist has claimed that climate change will shorten your life.
A new study published by a US-Bangladesh researcher has found that rising temperatures and rain cycles will cause the average lifespan to decrease by six months.
The model suggested that if the annual average rose by two degrees Fahrenheit, life expectancy at birth would decrease by five months and one week, and when combined with rain cycles, it would decrease by 0.50 years.
However, the expert also noted that women will be hit the hardest as 10 months of their lives will be taken away.
The study cites that climate change is causing global hunger, nutritional status, disease, mental health and premature deaths, which has contributed to shortening lifespans.
A new study published by researchers from the US and Bangladesh has found that rising temperatures and rain cycles will cause the average lifespan to decrease by six months
The sole author, Amit Roy of Shahjalal University in Bangladesh and The New School for Social Research in the US, said: ‘The global threat that climate change poses to the well-being of billions underlines the urgent need to tackle this crisis as a public health crisis . , as evidenced by this study, highlighting that mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and proactive initiatives are essential to safeguard life expectancy and protect the health of populations worldwide.”
Roy came to his conclusion by analyzing data on average temperature, rainfall and life expectancy from 191 countries between 1940 and 2020.
The author created what he called a “first-of-its-kind composite climate change index,” which combined temperature and rainfall cycles to measure the overarching severity of climate change.
“The results indicate that a global temperature increase of two degrees Fahrenheit is itself associated with an average decrease in human life expectancy of about 0.44 years, or about five months and one week,” Roy shared in a statement.
The model suggested that if the annual average rose by two degrees Fahrenheit, life expectancy at birth would decrease by five months and one week, and when combined with rain cycles, it would decrease by 0.50 years.
‘A 10-point increase in the composite climate change index – which takes into account both temperature and rainfall – is expected to reduce average life expectancy by six months.’
The Climate Change Index uses a standardized framework to compare the climate performance of 63 countries and the EU, which together are responsible for more than 90 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Although the researcher published his research on Thursday, the paper does not mention when the world’s average life expectancy will decline.
Roy noted that “average life expectancy worldwide increased significantly between 1960 and 2020, from 55 years to 72 years.”
Men have increased from 48 years to 70 years and women from 52 years to 74 years.
The extra years were “thanks to access to plentiful and more nutritious food, clean water, better hygiene and advanced medical care, along with innovations in antibiotics and vaccines,” Roy wrote.
However, data shows that life expectancy fell during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The global average annual temperature rose sharply from 59F to 69F between 1940 and 1990, during the same 80 years measured for the study.
But since 1990, temperatures have dropped by two degrees.