Unchecked Emissions Could Double Heat-Related Child Mortality

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If carbon emissions are limited to slow temperature rise, as many as 6,000 child deaths could be prevented in Africa each year, according to new estimates.

If carbon emissions are limited to slow temperature rise, as many as 6,000 child deaths could be prevented in Africa each year, according to new estimates.

A team of international scientists, led by the University of Leeds in collaboration with researchers at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (LSHTM), have shown that thousands of heat-related child deaths could be prevented if temperature increases are limited to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5ºC target through to 2050.

However, heat-related child deaths could double in sub-Saharan Africa by mid-century if high emissions continue.

Their work, published in the journal Environmental Research Letters, estimated the impact of climate change on annual heat-related deaths of children under five in sub-Saharan Africa, from 1995 to 2050.

Read more at University of Leeds

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