Urban areas in Pakistan could be the first to experience lethal heatwaves, says report

• For the people living in these regions, the average annual likelihood of experiencing such a heat wave is projected to rise to 14 percent by 2050, says report.
• The poorest countries could be more exposed to climate change, as they often have climates closer to dangerous physical thresholds.

The rising temperatures and lethal heatwaves could become a norm for countries like Pakistan, India in coming years as climate change takes toll on the planet, stated a report by McKinsey and Company.

“By 2050, under an RCP 8.5 scenario, the number of people living in areas with a nonzero chance of lethal heat waves would rise from zero today to between 700 million and 1.2 billion (not factoring in air conditioner penetration),” said the report.

“Urban areas in India and Pakistan may be the first places in the world to experience such lethal heatwaves. For the people living in these regions, the average annual likelihood of experiencing such a heat wave is projected to rise to 14 percent by 2050. The average share of effective annual outdoor working hours lost due to extreme heat in exposed regions globally could increase from 10 percent today to 10 to 15 percent by 2030 and 15 to 20 percent by 2050,” it added.

The report said that while all countries are affected by climate change, the poorest countries could be more exposed, as they often have climates closer to dangerous physical thresholds.

It added that lethal heat waves show less of a correlation with per capita GDP, but it is important to note that several of the most affected countries—Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan, to name a few—have relatively low per capita GDP levels.