Climate crisis, rising temperatures and ageing well

India has hit temperatures of 50°C this year, and so has Pakistan. The heat’s starting to rise in Europe.  Even the wet and windy UK (see the photo above of me enjoying a balmy 12°C on a Norfolk beach this week. June!) is predicted to hit temperatures in the high 30s in the next few weeks. The climate crisis is nothing new, of course. But what’s becoming increasingly clear is the detrimental effect it’s having on the long-term health of everyone on this overheating planet.

New research published in the European Heart Journal has linked increased stroke risk, particularly for older women, to hotter night-time temperatures. Apparently, our nights are warming faster than our days. The study, in a German hospital, cross-referenced the incidence of stroke with local weather conditions. It found that older women – average age of 71 – were more likely to suffer a stroke on warm nights, and that numbers of strokes increased in the years from 2013 to 2020, compared to 2006 to 2012.

Cardiovascular stress

Of course, this is correlation, not causation. But similar data has been found for heart attacks in extremely hot weather conditions too. The cardiovascular system is part of the body’s temperature control. So when it’s dealing with extreme heat, it’s under stress. Our blood vessels are constricting and dilating in a different way, and we may also be dealing with dehydration from sweating. Simple advice for when temperatures rise: stay hydrated and keep the air moving in your bedroom at night. Even warm air dries sweat, which has a cooling effect on the body.

Six months of life expectancy

The stroke data is just one example of targeted research into the impact of the climate crisis on longevity. Research published at the beginning of the year found a broader link between rising temperatures and reduced life expectancy. The study’s author created a clever climate change index that combined the impacts of temperature and rainfall on longevity using data from 191 countries between 1940 and 2020. The index revealed that the combined impact of rising temperatures and rainfall has led to a decrease in the average life expectancy of six months. Women, and people in developing countries, are disproportionately affected.

Dr Amit Roy, who created the climate change index issued this plea, ‘The global threat posed by climate change to the well-being of billions underscores the urgent need to address it as a public health crisis…. emphasising that mitigation efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and proactive initiatives are essential to safeguard life expectancy and protect the health of populations worldwide.’ Let’s hope global leaders are listening to him.

Annabel’s written before about how particulate matter from air pollution has a negative impact on our ability to age well and a thorough run down of air purifiers (my Tru Sens is whirring away as I type). Research published last autumn linked air pollution, particularly from PM2.5 (fine particulate matter), to increased dementia risk. After drilling down into the data on nine different sources of PM_2.5 (including road traffic, coal-burning industry etc) researchers found that particulate matter from agriculture and wildfires was particularly associated with an increased risk of dementia.

And what can we do?

This is all very depressing, isn’t it? And begs the question, what can we do, as individuals? We can, of course, take small daily actions that reduce our impact on the planet: less waste; less car and air travel; fewer toxic products; reducing, reusing and recycling. All the things we know. And we can talk about them: research into the psychology of the ripple effect has found that our own self-improvement can motivate others to take action, spreading the results further than we could envisage.

And half the world’s population goes to the polls this year – I know some of those elections have taken place already, but we can continue to hold our elected representatives to account. Ask them questions when they turn up on the doorstep, or when they ask for your vote as you pass through a station (it’s almost impossible to get on the tube round our way without being accosted by a prospective member of parliament!). We all work so hard to age well on an individual basis, let’s take it out into the world as much as we can.

The Power Decade giveaway!

My latest book, The Power Decade: How to Thrive After Menopause, is out in small-format paperback this week. The book is your guide to nurturing body and brain to mitigate against the long-term impact of menopause. The years post-menopause are an opportunity to power ahead, to decide who we are and how we want to live our lives as we face the future: and the foundation for that is our health, both physical and mental.

I’ve got copies to give away! One on our Instagram account @agewellproject and one via email. Drop me an email at theagewellproject@gmail.com and let me know how you’re powering up post-menopause. All entries will go into a draw. Giveaway closes midnight BST on Friday June 14^th 2024.

Good luck!

Susan