Older Hoosiers have a resource to address climate change - Lebanon Reporter

Older Hoosiers have a resource to address climate change | News | reporter.net

The country is feeling the chill of winter now, but 2023 will be in the history books as the hottest year on record, and worries are growing about how climate change will affect the most vulnerable segment of the population: the elderly.

By 2025, nearly 19% of all Hoosiers will be age 65 or older. And in 62 of Indiana’s 92 counties, the figure will exceed 20%. Cornell University created the Aging and Climate Change Clearinghouse to examine the intersection of climate and aging.

Karl Pillemer professor of gerontology at Cornell University and director of the project, said the clearinghouse has a dual purpose.

“This new clearinghouse is aimed at bringing together researchers, environmental and aging organizations and older people who are wondering, ‘How can I get involved, and what should I be doing to protect myself now?’” Pillemer explained.

Pillemer noted older citizens may wonder if their actions to combat climate change would make a difference.

The consortium will offer strategies for older adults and environmental organizations to partner on solutions.

A Purdue University report, “Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment,” said since 1895, Indiana’s statewide annual average temperature has risen by 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit, or about a 10th of a degree Fahrenheit per decade.

The report also revealed since 1960, the average annual temperature has risen 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit per decade year round.

Pillemer emphasized warmer summer temperatures already present warning signs.

“There have been many studies of extreme heat events,” Pillemer pointed out. “Older people living alone are vastly, disproportionately likely to die or to become sick in those extreme heat events.”

The report also indicates the warming trend has sped up in recent decades. And as temperatures climb, the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke will increase. Other related impacts, such as climate change-related flooding, will mean more mold, and more mosquitoes and ticks – along with the diseases they carry.