Heat stress from extreme heat and humidity will annually affect areas now home to 1.2 billion people by 2100, assuming current greenhouse gas emissions, say researchers. Rising global temperatures are increasing exposure to heat stress, which harms human health, agriculture, the economy and the environment, the study, said.
“When we look at the risks of a warmer planet, we need to pay particular attention to combined extremes of heat and humidity, which are especially dangerous to human health,” said study researcher Robert E. Kopp from Rutgers University in the US.
Heat stress ranges from milder conditions like heat rash and heat cramps to heat exhaustion. Heat stroke can kill or cause permanent
disability without emergency treatment. According to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention an estimated 1.2 billion people would be affected with 3 degrees celsius of warming, as expected by the end of this century under current global policies
