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Abstract
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It is highly likely that in the past few years you and your community have experienced or been close to an extreme weather event, such as a hurricane, flood, heat wave, drought, severe storm, or wildfire. Since 1970, the annual number of disasters globally has increased by a factor of five (World Meteorological Organization, 2021). In 2022, in the United States, there were 18 significant weather and climate disasters, including severe storms, wildfires, droughts, heat waves, flooding, cyclones, and tornadoes (Smith, 2023). Climate change, fueled by greenhouse gas emissions, is driving the acceleration of global warming, increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events and the production of hazardous pollutant ground-level ozone. Extreme weather has a direct effect on human health and also disrupts community resources, including power, water, housing, and services, sometimes for considerable time after the major event (Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, 2023).
Extreme weather events pose greater risk and impact for older adults and affect communities of color and low-income older adults disproportionately (National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, 2023). The legacy of structural racism and zoning is prominent as low-income communities, disproportionately including BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and Persons of Color) members, have higher exposure to risks, such as pollution, heat islands, flood-prone zones, and sub-standard housing, and have fewer resources to prevent or mitigate the effects of disaster. "Climate gap" inequities are expressed in many ways at the individual level, from access to air conditioning and transportation, costs of food and basic supplies, and lack of adequate property insurance. Forces of structural racism shape community access to clean air and water, protective green space, transportation, adequate housing, and supportive resources and services (Morello-Frosch & Obasogie, 2023).
Unique Considerations for Older Adults
In a previous state of the science review of climate health, McDermott et al. (2020) summarized nursing climate science and the unique threat to older adults due to challenges related to aging changes, atypical presentations of disease, comorbidities, economic constraints, living in substandard or smaller urban housing (which is often difficult to cool or heat), social isolation, and physical and functional limitations. The most significant and common physiological aging changes that have implications for older adults in extreme weather include a reduced thermo-regulatory response to heat and cold and increases in rates of cognitive impairment. Polypharmacy, hydration status, and chronic disease may also further dampen the temperature response leading to harm (McDermott et al., 2019). Since the 2020 review by McDermott et al., the impact of extreme weather events and climate change has grown and is having a devastating impact on the health of older adults. Indeed, summer 2023 was the hottest recorded and was linked to hundreds of heat-related illnesses and deaths in older adults (Kuthunur, 2023). Unprecedented air pollution and extreme heat kept older adults inside, further reducing mobility and increasing isolation...
Language: en |