The three countries with the largest number of people potentially exposed to deadly heat by the year 2100 are: India, some 600 million; Nigeria, 300 million, and Indonesia, 100 million. In total, some two billion individuals will be exposed to extreme temperatures, according to a study published by the scientific journal Nature Sustainability.
The rise in global temperatures will become unbearable and even life-threatening by the end of this century, threatening two billion people, according to the report’s authors.
The researchers believe that every tenth of a degree counts now more than ever, since by limiting warming to 1.5°C, the most ambitious goal of the Paris Agreement (2015), the number of people exposed to these risks would be reduced to less than five hundred. millions.
Two billion individuals will be exposed to extreme temperatures by the year 2100, according to the study published by Nature Sustainability. Temperatures will be much higher than humanity has endured for millennia. As a result, some areas could become uninhabitable.
The study points out that current policies around the world to limit climate warming are leading the planet to a temperature increase of 2.7°C by the end of the century.
However, the world is already experiencing a warming of close to 1.2°C due to human activity, especially the use of fossil fuels, with a series of disasters: heat waves, droughts and forest fires.
Researchers estimate that with every additional 0.10°C, 140 million more people will be exposed to dangerous heat.
France prepares for 2100
In France, the Ministry of the Environment launched a consultation on Tuesday to answer the question: how to live in a country with a temperature 4°C higher and prepare for the effects of global warming by the year 2100? Transportation, economy, housing, all areas are involved. The conclusions will be presented at the end of the summer.
Faced with global warming, there are two main approaches: mitigation and adaptation. Both go hand in hand, although the latter is usually relegated in public policies. If warming can be kept below the 1.5°C limit set by the Paris Agreement, the consequences will remain dire. They will be even more so if current commitments take us on a trajectory of an additional 2.5°C.
Therefore, it is better to prepare for the worst, which must never be ruled out: that is the purpose of this consultation, which considers a 4°C increase in the temperature of France. In this scenario, the number of days of extreme heat will be multiplied by 5, the droughts will be longer and, at the same time, torrential rains and floods will also be more frequent.
How to adapt? This is the first time that a public consultation has been carried out on this topic. Every sector, from transport to construction to energy and agriculture, will have to contribute. This information gathering, which will take place before the end of summer.