Earth Today | Ageing populations in peril

WITH AN ageing global population and an ongoing increase in urbanisation, there exists the prevailing need to minimise the risk factors for disease, with keen attention to not only genetic, physiological, behavioural and social influences, but also environmental conditions.

This is according to the latest Frontiers Report of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).

“Exposure to environmental stressors and pollutants in old age, combined with the effects of lifetime exposure, may promote the development and progression of a wide range of age-related non-communicable diseases, accelerating ageing processes, and other health issues,” said the report, titled The Weight of Time: Facing a new challenge for people and ecosystems.

“Older people are especially susceptible to environmental risks caused by climate change. Climate-related disasters exert substantial pressure on people’s physical and mental well-being. Chronic health conditions and general frailties make the physical hazards from extreme weather events more challenging or even life-threatening, given the reduced mobility experienced by many older persons,” it added.

While the threats for older people will vary across regions, the report noted that all are likely to experience mobility, cognitive and sensory, as well as social, and economic limitations that can impair adaptability and the ability to function during disasters for older populations. In short, the anticipated rise in pollution, heat and storm threats will present a challenge for climate adaptation and resilience building.

According to the 2025 report, when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans in 2005, for example, some 75 per cent of those who died were over 60 years old, “despite that age group amounting for only 16 per cent of the affected population”.

“Heat waves are among the most frequent and deadly impacts of climate change, along with floods and shrinking ice cover,” noted UNEP’s executive director, Inger Andersen in a July 10 press release on the subject.

“We must be prepared for the risks these impacts pose, especially for society’s most vulnerable, including older persons,” she added.

Still, she said, there is hope yet, given available solutions to protect communities and to restore ecosystems.

“A healthy environment enables people to develop, maintain, and improve their physical, mental, and social well-being, with the goal of achieving active, independent and healthy ageing as they get older,” the report champions.

At the same time, it said “transforming cities to be age-friendly, free of pollution, resilient to environmental hazards and more environmentally sustainable is a priority for global public health and urban planning agendas” while “policies and approaches that foster healthy and age-friendly environments promote the quality of life for older individuals and benefit all ages”.

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