Study finds uncompensable heat stress spreading rapidly across India
A fresh study shows that Uncompensable Heat Stress (UHS) is spreading fast across India as the planet warms up.
Back in the 1980s, less than 0.01 million square kilometers were affected. Now it's jumped to 0.04 million square kilometers by 2020.
During monsoon months (July to October), things get even trickier: if global temperatures rise by just two degrees Celsius, UHS could impact over half the country.
Hotspots mapped, 1.2 billion at risk
Researchers from IIT Gandhinagar, Stanford, and Purdue have pinpointed UHS hotspots in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, coastal areas, and northwestern India, places where high humidity mixes with sweltering temperatures between 35 degrees Celsius and 38 degrees Celsius.
The bigger picture? If heat stress goes unchecked, it could threaten up to 1.2 billion people, raising health risks and affecting how people work and live, especially in densely packed cities like those across India.