Climate Change and the Disproportionally Affected

While the impact of climate change on health in the general population has been investigated, there are comparably few studies on the impact it has on older people - despite the very fact that climate change disproportionally affects older people (Leyva et al., 2017).

Older people's mortality rate is significantly higher, mobility is reduced and susceptibility to social isolation and disease increased. Older people experience greater impacts from flood events and related diseases; higher mortality rates are due to drowning and secondary health impacts (e.g. heart problems,  restricted access to medicine).The same is true for typhoons and hurricanes, with the elderly being more likely to die because of mobility difficulties or lack of evacuation assistance (HelpAge, 2015). About half of the people who died during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, were 75 or older, during Hurricane Sandy in 2012, half of those who lost their lives were over 65 (via). 

Climate change also forces people to migrate and it is the older ones who often stay behind. Older people are also disproportionally affected by heat waves (HelpAge, 2015). The Chicago heatwave of 1995, for instance, caused 514 heat-related deaths, 72% of them were older than 65 (via).

The elderly are already affected by the impacts of climate change. Over the next decades, however, their vulnerability is set to increase (HelpAge, 2015).

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- HelpAge (2015). Climate change in an ageing world, link

- Leyva, E. W. A., Beaman, A. & Davidson, P. M. (2017). Health Impact of Climate Change in Older People: An Integrative Review and Implications for Nursing. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 49(6), 670-678.

- photograph by Martin Parr via 

More:

- For The Elderly, Climate Change Poses More Risks To Wellness, 2021, Forbes

- The forgotten generation: The elderly are most at risk of suffering climate change, The Independent