People flocking to cities in rapidly urbanizing areas such as southern Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are increasingly vulnerable to soaring temperatures and high humidity.
The risk of extreme heat is a rising threat to fast-growing cities around the world, according to a new study published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
As more people move to cities and the climate warms, extreme heat could harm and kill more people, reduce worker productivity and hurt economies, the study says. The urban poor are most at risk.
The study, which assessed more than 13,000 cities from 1983 to 2016, found that global extreme heat exposure increased nearly 200 percent over that time period, a result of population growth, climate change and the fact that city infrastructure absorbs more heat. Nearly a quarter of the world’s population is in areas where extreme heat exposure is rising, the study says.
