Extreme heat is making daily life harder around the world

New research finds that days too hot for routine activities have doubled over the past 75 years, and more than a third of the global population now lives where heat severely affects daily life.

New research reports that extreme heat is increasingly preventing routine outdoor activities. Scientists say the number of days too hot for simple tasks has doubled over the past 75 years. The study analyzed heat and humidity records from 1950 to 2024 and used the United Nations Human Development Index as a measure of vulnerability. The findings were published in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research: Health. Key findings: - The number of days when common outdoor tasks are unsafe has doubled globally over the past 75 years, according to the paper. - People aged 65 and older experience, on average, about a month a year when heat prevents routine activities. - The paper reports that more than one-third of the global population lives in regions where heat severely affects daily life. - Regional examples cited include Qatar, where older adults face unsafe conditions for roughly one-third of the year and younger adults lose many hours annually, and the United States, where seniors lose about 270 hours a year to overheating risks. Summary: The study indicates that rising heat is limiting ordinary activities for large groups of people, with older adults particularly affected and some regions experiencing substantial yearly losses of usable hours. Undetermined at this time.