News · 27 January 2026
Extreme Heat to Double by 2050 With 2°C Warming
Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash
A new Oxford University study published in Nature Sustainability warns that if global warming reaches 2°C above pre-industrial levels, the number of people living with extreme heat will more than double by 2050. This means 41% of the global population, or 3.79 billion people, will be affected, up from 23% in 2010. The tropics and southern hemisphere will be most affected, but colder countries will also struggle. The largest affected populations will be in India, Nigeria, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the Philippines.
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