Extreme weather, driven by climate change, could shut down more than 16,000 hospitals worldwide: report
One in 12 hospitals around the world are at risk of partial or total shutdown from extreme weather events by 2100 if countries fail to curb fossil fuel emissions, a new report(opens in a new tab) warns.
Without a phase out of fossil fuels, a total of 16,245 hospitals could be somewhat or completely shut down by the end of the century, according to the report from XDI (Cross Dependency Initiative), a climate risk analyst, which looked at a total of 200,216 hospitals around the world.
The report was released in time for the COP28 climate summit’s health day(opens in a new tab), which saw global leaders come together in Dubai on Sunday to discuss how to strengthen the resilience of health systems in the face of climate change.
“Climate change is increasingly impacting the health of people around the world,” said Dr. Karl Mallon, director of science and technology at XDI, in a news release.
Of the 16,245 hospitals identified as at a high risk of shutdown by 2100, the report notes that an alarming 71 per cent (11,512) will be in low- and middle-income countries.
Currently, South East Asia has the highest percentage of hospitals at high risk of damage from extreme weather events, with close to one in five (18.4 per cent) hospitals considered high risk. It is followed by East Asia at 10.78 per cent and South Asia at 9.97 per cent.
Meanwhile, North America is projected to experience the greatest increase in risk of damage to all hospital infrastructure by the end of the century, with a 430 per cent increase in the amount of risk since 2020. It is followed by East Asia, at 412 per cent. |Read more https://www.ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environment/extreme-weather-driven-by-climate-change-could-shut-down-more-than-16-000-hospitals-worldwide-report-1.6671383 | ctvnews.ca/climate-and-environ…
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