Healthy Ageing in a Changing Climate
From the recent report of International Year of Older Persons: Second World Assembly on Ageing (August 2024):
The report by the UN Secretary-General on the follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing emphasizes the growing importance of intergenerational solidarity in the face of the world's changing demographics. The report highlights the opportunities and challenges presented by the increasing global population of older persons and advocates for policies that promote intergenerational partnerships and solidarity.
The report also emphasizes the critical role of intergenerational solidarity in addressing the challenges of climate change, advocating for inclusive, equitable, and comprehensive climate action policies that acknowledge the needs of all age groups.
The report also encourages the General Assembly to reiterate the call for Member States to include older persons' representatives in their delegations to the UN, thus enhancing intergenerational discussions.’
We all know that climate change is having an impact on all of our lives. But are we aware of the particular risks it poses for older people?
In April 2024 members of the online group Climate Matters heard from Professor Ryan Woolrych from Heriot-Watt University. He spoke about his recent research Healthy Ageing in a Changing Climate. Many of the extreme weather events we have experienced in recent years: floods, high temperatures, storms and wildfires can have both direct and indirect impacts on the health and wellbeing of older people.
2,800 Excess deaths in 2022
Higher temperatures caused by heatwaves bring excess mortality, with older people having a reduced ability to regulate body temperature. Chronic health conditions make this worse, such as cardiovascular and respiratory disease, diabetes, and susceptibility to dehydration, further affecting their health and wellbeing. During the summer 2022 summer heatwaves, over 2,800 more people aged 65 and over died in England than would be typical. This marked the highest number of heat-related excess deaths in the last two decades.
What can we do?
The key to this is education – a key tenet of our organization. We all need to know what is happening to our climate and its particular effects on us: knowledge builds resilience. In addition, it is important that older people are seen as agents of change and as influencers, moving away from a narrative focused on perceived vulnerability. You can access Prof Woolrych’s talk here1.
Members of Climate Matters continue to work with Ryan at Heriot-Watt and his partners at the University of York, aiming to further explore an intergenerational approach to climate change.
- The prof's talk starts at 37:30. ↩︎