At big events around the world, scenes of extreme heat are starting to become familiar. Older men, shirts unbuttoned, eyes closed, lying. Aid tents filled with unconscious people. The faithful — whether their pursuit is religion, music, the ballot box or sports — sweating in wisps of shade.
The consequences are dire. This year, at least 1,300 deaths Temperatures exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit. In many ways, the toll was just the latest sign that crowd control and heat waves caused by climate change are on a dangerous collision course.
period India’s recent electionsScores of poll workers were killed on the job last summer in South Korea. I got sick Like everyone else at the festival AustraliaEurope and North America.
even though More deaths due to high temperatures today There is still a dangerous cultural lag compared to other extreme weather events. Many organizers and participants of large events remain behind the climate curve, failing to grapple with just how big a risk global warming poses to summer crowds.
“As warm seasons get longer and heat waves come earlier and earlier, we’re going to have to adapt,” said Benjamin Zajczyk, a climate scientist at Johns Hopkins University who studies health-damaging climate events. In addition to individual behavior, infrastructure, emergency management and social schedules must also “really acknowledge this new reality,” he added.
There are many low-tech ways to prevent illness and death, including shade, water stations, painting sidewalks white to reflect heat, and providing emergency medical services to treat severe heat stroke. Some popular and innovative places, such as Singapore, Created public spaces that blend indoors and outdoorsThey installed air conditioners in places where people might have to spend time waiting, such as bus stops.
The hardest problem to solve may also be the simplest: educating the general public about the risks of heat, including those who are used to living in hot areas. They often don’t know the early signs of heat stress or that heat is particularly dangerous for people with existing medical conditions, such as kidney disease or high blood pressure. Even medicines, such as Anticholinergic drugsMedications for allergies or asthma may speed up the condition by limiting sweating.
“Heat is a very sophisticated and insidious killer,” said Tarik Benmarhnia, an environmental epidemiologist and associate professor at the University of California, San Diego. “It’s very silent.”
Religious pilgrimages are perhaps the most thorny of all activities. Followers of many faiths—Christians In the Philippines;Hindus in India; Muslims in Saudi Arabia – have died from heat stroke while participating in religious ceremonies in the past few years.
But the Hajj may hold the gravest dangers.
The Arabian Peninsula is hot and rising rapidly, with night temperatures rising as well, taking away the time the body normally has to cool down. The Hajj lasts five or six days, and the heat is even worse in the holy city of Mecca.
The hajj calendar is also based on lunar cycles, so the pilgrimage can be at its hottest times, as it was this year, and because pilgrims tend to be older, they are more susceptible to the heat.
When Dr. Benmaniya heard about the deaths during this year’s Hajj, he shuddered.
“I think this probably happened to my grandmother, too,” he said by phone Monday.
He paid for her 2019 trip to Mecca. She was 75 at the time, but thankfully, he said, she made a smaller pilgrimage in April, during a cooler season. Given this year’s death toll, he suggested that heat experts learn from past experience and work quickly with religious authorities to develop adaptation strategies.
The Saudi Ministry of Health launched an education campaign urging people to stay hydrated and use umbrellas. Officials set up field hospitals and water stations. They deployed thousands of medical workers.
That is simply not enough for millions of people, many of whom circumvent state quotas designed to limit crowd sizes. Saudi Arabia has been criticized for deaths over its handling of the pilgrimage.
India’s general election this year showed that even in places where people thought they were used to hot weather, there needs to be more awareness of the dangers of extreme heat.
According to disaster relief officials in Bihar, at least 14 people had died in the state by the end of May, including at least 10 polling station workers. 100 deaths in 72 hours The cases in Odisha are suspected to be related to high temperatures.
Indian health officials had to prepare. In the heat stroke ward of a Delhi hospital, patients were immediately immersed in immersion tubs filled with ice to lower their body temperatures. In wards equipped with ice refrigerators, ice boxes and ventilators, critically ill patients were immediately placed on ice and injected with cold fluids.
But in many areas, the heatwave and voting peaked at the same time, including in Bihar state’s Aurangabad district, home to about 3 million people, where temperatures reached nearly minus 48 degrees Celsius (118 degrees Fahrenheit) in late May.
One day, Ravi Bhushan Srivastava, the chief medical officer of the government hospital, was going to check the daily autopsy report, which showed that 60 patients had been admitted due to heat stroke.
“At least 35 to 40 people are in a serious condition,” he said. “They are either unconscious or not conscious, have fever and are having difficulty breathing.”
He added: “In my entire career, I have never seen such a high number of patients with symptoms of heat stroke and such severe illness.”
Election rallies are particularly vulnerable because of the huge crowds involved. But there are many possible solutions. Attendees should be able to see real-time local temperatures, with color-coded risk levels, said Aditya Valiathan Pillai, an adaptation expert at the Partnership for a Sustainable Future, a Delhi-based research institute. Water stations, shade and cooling centers could be set up. Just as important, public agencies should step up to issue heat warnings. “We now have pretty accurate heat wave forecasts five days out,” Mr. Pillai said, “so this kind of advance awareness is possible.”
Sporting events have already begun to adapt to the dangers of extreme heat. During the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, the combination of heat, humidity and sun caused athletes to take water breaks on the field. The body temperature reached 89.6 degrees. degrees Fahrenheit. Officials moved the 2022 Qatar World Cup from the summer to the cooler months of November and December.
The Paris Olympics appear to be trying to find a balance. Some events, such as the marathon, will start earlier in the day, and water stations should be provided for spectators.
“Major events like the Olympics and the World Cup come with a duty of care for all who attend,” said Madeline Orr, a professor at the University of Toronto and author of Warming Up: How Climate Change Is Changing Sport.
“We’re talking about hydration breaks and cooling breaks,” she added, “providing athletes and officials with access to cooling towels, shade or misting fans, and having medical staff on standby in case anyone needs additional care.”
For now, that may be enough. Many experts say a more radical shift may be needed. The Summer Olympics may have to be switched to the Fall. Likewise, India’s elections and international tennis tournaments may be postponed to cooler months. School holidays may be rescheduled based on weather conditions. Summer jobs, such as painting houses, may be switched to spring jobs.
Tasmanian climate scientist David Bowman Wrote an article During the 2020 Australian bushfires, calls for an end to the school summer holidays gained traction online, and people have begun to adapt in small ways. Umbrellas are becoming a fashionable accessory for sun protection, shorts are becoming more accepted at work, and road workers are increasingly working at night.
Climate change could force even greater changes in big events.
“All of these disasters are like cultural signals about the costs of climate change,” he said. “Sure, we can be stubborn and keep going regardless of climate change — but in the end, climate will win.”
Suhasini Raj New Delhi report, Pablo Robles From Seoul.
