Almost a third of the world population is now exposed to deadly heatwaves that are a result of climate change, says a study published in Nature Climate Change.
The “research shows that the overall risk of heat-related illness or death has climbed steadily since 1980, with around 30 percent of the world’s population now living in climatic conditions that deliver deadly temperatures at least 20 days a year,” says The Guardian. “The proportion of people at risk worldwide will grow to 48 percent by 2100 even if emissions are drastically reduced, while around three-quarters of the global population will be under threat by then if greenhouse gases are not curbed at all.”
Some places are seeing higher temperatures because of heavy deforestation—trees provide shade and a cooling effect—to make way for palm oil plantations, logging, and development. Climate change is also predicted to put additional stress on crop and livestock production because of higher overall temperatures and more intense storms.