Nordic Life Science 1
“Looking ahead, research will focus on assessing
the effectiveness of different adaptation measures and ensuring that the most vulnerable groups of society are better protected from the growing threat of frequent and intense heat waves.” KRISTIN AUNAN C Kristin Aunan, Research Director, CICERO 90 | NORDICLIFESCIENCE.ORG LIMATE CHANGE IS a fact as evidenced by rising global temperatures, and rising temperatures also affect global health. When you get too warm the body tries to cool down, your heart needs to pump harder to get blood into the peripheral regions of the body, and you also need to sweat more. All these physiological responses to heat stress can be very hard on the body, especially for society’s most vulnerable. Kristin Aunan, Research Director and Climate Scientist at the Center for International Climate Research Change (CICERO) in Oslo, Norway, has extensively studied the effect of heat and air pollution on health, and evaluated equitable interventions aimed at reducing the impact. Aunan, her team, and other external partners have analyzed 20 years of data from people in over 200 European cities, focusing on the effects of temperature, especially in individuals with other diseases such as cardiovascular and respiratory diseases. The study confirmed a strong link between heat and mortality. The teams also explored the combined effects of heat and air pollution (Zhang et al., Environmental Research, 2024), in particular fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) and ground level ozone (O3), and found a synergistic effect: excess mortality is higher when people are exposed to both heat and air pollution compared to exposure to heat alone. These results indicate that southern and southeastern Europe experience higher excess mortality from this combined exposure, influenced by overall population health and other vulnerability factors. The most fragile to heat Anette Hylen Ranhoff is a geriatrician and specialist in internal medicine with over 40 years of clinical experience. Throughout her career, she has observed that people with cardiovascular, respiratory or other chronic conditions, as well as older people (over 75 years), are the most vulnerable to heat. “In addition, individuals with dementia face high risks because they may not recognize the dangers of heat or take appropriate action to protect themselves,” she points out. “There is also a clear socioeconomic gradient: people living in poverty, particularly those in small apartments in city centers, and with limited access to protective measures such as air conditioning are at greater risk of heat-related illness and death,” she adds. In the worst case scenario, a lack of protection from heat may lead to heat stroke, i.e. when the body temperature becomes uncontrolled and can rise to around 40°C. This is a very dangerous condition, similar to having an extremely high fever, and can cause severe damage to internal organs, although it is relatively uncommon, explains Hylen Ranhoff. “It is more common that people experience dehydration due to excessive sweating. They may become dizzy or confused and fail to drink enough fluids, which can lead to organ damage, particularly to the kidneys,” she says. R&D // CLIMATE CHANGE