Heat Waves Participate In Exacerbating Poverty In The World, People Must Care More About Climate Change

JAKARTA extreme heat that hit the earth is getting worse. In India and Thailand dozens of people died due to hot weather, while the lower middle class is said to be the group most affected by climate change.

The Times of India on Thursday (20/6/2024) reported that the hot temperature in the capital New Delhi left 52 people dead in the last two days.

Most of the victims are poor who live and work in the open.

The heat wave also killed 61 people in Thailand throughout 2024, until last May. Thailand's Ministry of Health stated that the death toll from heatstroke during 2024 exceeded the number of people who died with the same cause throughout 2023.

The Ministry's data reveals that throughout 2023 37 people died from heavy stroke. A heatstroke has hit Thailand since the last few weeks, authorities have issued a very hot temperature warning almost every day, "said Thailand's Ministry of Health, as reported by Reuters.

Decreased Productivity

Billions of people in Asia are grappling with extreme hot weather. In the last decades, the average earth temperature has been warmer by 1.2 degrees Celsius than the end of the 19th century.

The year 2023 was declared the hottest year in history, after it was confirmed that global warming exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius during the 12-month period between February and January 2024.

Extreme weather also occurs in Indonesia. The Meteorology, Climatology and Geophysics Agency (BMKG) confirmed that the air temperature in several parts of Indonesia ranged from 32 and 37 degrees Celsius. This is what causes the weather to be very hot lately.

The increase in the earth's temperature turned out to have a more impact on poor families. They try hard to keep electricity bills from soaring high even though the need for room conditioning increases in the midst of hot weather.

Residents who live in densely populated areas in Jakarta admit that they have to continue to turn on the fan to reduce the impact of hot weather. Not even a few have to turn it on for almost 24 hours. As a result, electricity bills swell from normal. Another expenditure is the fulfillment of clean water, because groundwater is not suitable for consumption.

Dadan, a pedicab driver in the Tambora area, has another story. Although he managed to suppress electricity spending at home, he had to spend more to buy drinking water.

If usually it only takes four bottles per day, now it becomes more than six bottles so that the body remains hydrated during pulling a rickshaw, even though Dadan's income is uncertain every day.

Hot weather also affects production of agricultural products, working hours, and public health. Agriculture yields decreased, rice fields could not be maximized due to minimal rainfall.

As a result, they must buy food needs, once previously they can be met from their own land.

Director of the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios) Bhima Yudhistira said the hot weather phenomenon could result in crop failure. He is also concerned about the increasing air pollution.

In addition, according to Bhima, residents in slums are also more susceptible to disease, thereby increasing health costs.

Muhammad Rifqi Damm, Research Fellow at the University of Indonesia's Asia Research Center (ARC UI) specifically commented on climate influences, especially rising hot temperatures, on the economy of the lower class.

Hot weather usually affects the economy in various sectors, such as agriculture, construction, and labor-intensive industries. The agricultural sector is certainly the easiest to be affected by weather conditions. The productivity of workers in the construction and industrial sectors also tends to decline in the event of hot weather," said Damm.

"Hot weather tends to make productivity decrease, because the body will be more fatigue-prone. As a result, income decreases. Especially for people who rely on their physical energy for various jobs," he added.

Cost of Living Crisis

The impact of hot weather on the poor does not only occur in Indonesia, but even in developed countries, such as Australia.

Australians claim to have been hit by a stroke while trying to suppress electricity bills amid a record heatstroke, a new report from the Australian Social Service Council has been found.

Australia's Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) released a report on how living expenses impact people's ability to cool their homes.

A survey of 1,007 people found that 60 percent had difficulty paying electricity bills, and 80 percent said high temperatures at home made them unhealthy.

Head of ACSS Dr. Cassandra Goldie said 14 percent of them went to the doctor because their health was disrupted due to hot weather.

"Hot waves have so far been the biggest cause of hospitalizations when extreme weather occurs and we have to do more to protect low-income people," said Dr. Goldie, quoted byabc.net.au.

"This is not only a health crisis, but also a cost of living crisis where 60 percent of the people surveyed find it increasingly difficult to pay electricity bills," he added.

Donna, 64, is a retired disabled in Queensland. Donna admitted that she only needed to go to the homeless again because 65 percent of her income ran out on rental fees.

At his rental house, he could not use a room conditioning because it would only cost a lot of electricity.

"I'm going to spend the day in bed with a spray bottle filled with water and it's just going to spray it on my body and turn on the fan on the ceiling," Donna said.

He felt very suffering and frustrated because he did not have a good quality of life in his old age.

Executive Chair of the National Rural Health Alliance Susi Tegar said Donna's suffering was commonplace across the country.

According to Tegan, the government needs to consider how bad the development of social housing will be when temperatures start to rise because this is a public health problem.

"When you only make 100 Australian dollars per week or the income group is very small, the additional electricity costs have a big impact," he said.

"I think we should have a reliable basic standard for all Australians, whether it's a private or social home," Tegan said again.

Climate change and heat waves produced clearly affect all aspects of life, but many people in the world don't care.