{"id":"f-73cd9b4b27-33a7b0a4-a34c-5347-a3aa-e32909302159","title":"Extreme heat is shrinking the space for daily activity, new study warns","description":"The study says that the impact is already visible across several regions. For example in tropical and subtropical countries, including parts of South Asia, the Middle East and West Africa, where heat levels frequently exceed safe limits for moderate work or exercise.","timestamp":1773569160,"category":"food_and_health","headline":"Extreme heat is shrinking the space for daily activity, new study warns","modifiedHeadline":"Heat Limits Human Activity, Study Finds","subCategories":["scid_67e09d1c"],"subcategoriesName":["Health Tips"],"region":"IN","bundleMetaData":{"bundleId":"c80449a0-0ad6-472b-8d17-5747dd8f5c83","bundleTitle":"Around the globe","cardData":null},"iabCategoryId":"467","iabCategoryName":"Environment","fcSummary":"a study in 'environmental research: health' reveals rising global temperatures are limiting safe physical activity for a third of the world's population. extreme heat forces reduced movement, impacting labor productivity and mobility, particularly in south asia, the middle east, and west africa. older adults face increased exposure to extreme heat, raising health risks. the findings highlight potential consequences of continued warming.","summary":"Extreme heat now limits activity for a third of world's population, study finds. Impacts felt in South Asia, Africa, & beyond.","ctaUrl":"https://trends.glance.com/newz/astrology/IN/en/news9/f-73cd9b4b27-33a7b0a4-a34c-5347-a3aa-e32909302159","sourceUrl":"https://www.news9live.com/world/extreme-heat-is-shrinking-the-space-for-daily-activity-new-study-warns-2941704","bannerImage":"https://g-mob.glance-cdn.com/public/fc/image/0JjiPBeLUrx0.webp","content":"

New Delhi: A latest worrying study published in the journal ‘Environmental Research: Health’ has said that rising global temperatures are not only altering

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ecosystems and weather patterns but are also beginning to reshape everyday human life. The study found that extreme heat is increasingly limiting the amount of physical activity people can safely undertake, with about one-third of the world’s population now experiencing temperatures that make even light movement difficult during parts of the year.

The research combines physiological data with decades of temperature records and population trends to examine how heat affects the human body’s capacity to function. The findings suggest that as the planet warms, large parts of the world are approaching thresholds where routine activities like walking, working outdoors and exercising are also becoming increasingly unsafe.

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Heat limiting human movement

Scientists involved in the study measured activity using “metabolic equivalents of task” (METs), a way to estimate how much energy the body expends during physical activity. Subsequent analysis then showed that extreme heat increasingly forced people into low-intensity or sedentary behaviour due to the body struggling to regulate its temperature when both environmental heat and physical exertion combine.

The study says that the impact is already visible across several regions. For example in tropical and subtropical countries, including parts of South Asia, the Middle East and West Africa, where heat levels frequently exceed safe limits for moderate work or exercise. These regions were seen to be particularly vulnerable as many people depend on outdoor labour and lack access to cooling infrastructure such as air conditioning.

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Further the research also pointed out how high temperatures reduce human mobility and productivity. Studies analysing mobility data from countries such as India, Indonesia and Mexico have found that extreme heat can reduce overall activity levels by up to 10 per cent in rural areas and about 5 per cent in urban areas, with poorer communities facing the greatest disruption.

Another striking findings of the study concerns the ageing global population. The analysis suggests that older adults now experience around 900 hours each year in conditions considered extreme heat, a sharp rise from roughly 600 hours annually in 1950. This matters because ageing bodies are less efficient at cooling themselves, increasing the risk of heat exhaustion or heatstroke.

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Scientists say the findings offer a glimpse of what a warmer world may look like if greenhouse-gas emissions continue at current levels. If warming continues, the consequences will extend beyond discomfort or health risks, especially in countries already experiencing intense heatwaves.

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Extreme heat is shrinking the space for daily activity, new study warns

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