A study published in The Lancet Planetary Health has found that older adults face substantially greater risks from heat exposure than previously understood. The research, led by Stanford University health academics, indicates that people aged 60 and over experience uncompensable heat stress—where the body loses its ability to cool itself—at much lower temperature thresholds compared to younger populations.
Previous research had not adequately accounted for age-related differences in heat vulnerability, instead applying temperature thresholds developed for younger adults to all age groups. This oversight masked the heightened risks faced by older people. Physiologically, older adults are more susceptible to heat because they sweat less efficiently, their hearts work harder in elevated temperatures, and their blood vessels have reduced capacity to dilate for cooling purposes.
The study indicates older adults face harmful heat stress at 1.5C of warming above preindustrial levels, compared with 4C for younger adults. As global temperatures continue to rise, combined with projections that the global population aged 60 and over will double to 2.1 billion by 2050, heat-related health problems are expected to surge, particularly in low- and middle-income countries including India and Pakistan. The research suggests each additional degree of global heating exposes roughly one billion more people to at least 180 hours of uncompensable heat stress annually, with this burden falling disproportionately on older populations.
Recent experience in Britain illustrates the immediate impact. The UK Health Security Agency has expressed concern that this year’s high temperatures—including five heatwaves across parts of the country—may result in the highest annual heat-related death toll on record. A four-day heatwave in May and eight-day heatwave in June together caused 2,877 excess deaths. Medical professionals note that older patients often arrive at hospitals during heat events with dehydration, collapse, or worsening of existing conditions such as heart and kidney disease.
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