As everyone knows, global warming is known to cause ice melting and many other phenomena. A recent study estimates that in the United States, rising temperatures will increase the number of deaths from injury among young people.
More than 2,000 additional deaths from mortal wounds each year in the United States. This is the conclusion of a study published in the journal Nature Medicine on January 13, 2020. Researchers from Imperial College London (UK) and Columbia University in New York (USA) analyzed data on 6 million deaths from fatal injuries in the United States. These same data have been correlated to the evolution of temperatures between 1980 and 2017 . The leaders of the study then focused on the months during which the average temperatures were 2°C higher than normal.
Why would deaths from fatal injuries increase with warmer weather? The researchers are not sure but have formulated a hypothesis all the same. Warmer weather would push people to get out more , spending more time outdoors and drinking more alcohol. This would encourage accidents and fatal attacks. As for suicides, there is talk of increased mental distress, mainly among young people.
15-34 year olds represent the group most exposed to road accidents (42%) and suicides (30%) with a 2°C increase in temperature. In addition, men are much more affected than women with 84% additional deaths. On the other hand, the elderly are less exposed, especially to falls. The less frequent presence of snow and ice would explain this drop.
You should know that the 2°C increase in average temperatures falls into the category of fairly optimistic scenarios. Recall that in 2014, the IPCC had developed several scenarios, the most pessimistic of which predicted an increase of4.8°C ! So, if this study is correct, a greater increase in temperatures could cause more deaths from fatal injuries. It should also be remembered that a few months ago, French researchers estimated that the global average temperature could increase by 6.5 to 7°C in 2100.
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