Photograph: Ajit Niranjan/The GuardianSwitzerland’s KlimaSeniorinnen, or senior climate women, are not who most people think of when they talk about those on the frontlines of the climate crisis. And women, particularly older ones, are more likely to die when temperatures soar. The reasons why are unclear, she said, but “changes in the cardiovascular system due to menopause or the fact that older women tend to be more active than men have been proposed as potential reasons”. Vicedo-Cabrera and her colleagues found that older women in Switzerland died at the highest rates from heat in summer 2022. Scientists are unsure why older women are at greater risk during heatwaves than older men.

Source: The Guardian December 27, 2023 16:38 UTC