A critical issue facing Spain’s health system is their ageing population with 30% of their population projected to be aged 65 years or more by 2050. This is against a background of major economic issues.
On January 31, 2017, I presented a seminar to the IIS Aragon at the University of Zaragoza on the impact of climate change on the health of the ageing in Australia with a particular emphasis on extreme heat. The audience of around 80 were doctoral students, researchers and gerontologists. While I noted that the problem of ageing is a significant issue for Australia, where the 65+ age group is projected to make up 22% of the population by 2061, it is a much more marked issue in Spain.
The impact of climate change in Australia has been particularly apparent with extreme heat and with Sydney and Brisbane experiencing the hottest January on record this year and 2016 was the hottest year on record. Spain has experienced similar climate change issues, though with greater emphasis on drought.
It was noted that temperature and the proportion of the population ageing were growing at the same time and further that there was a greater impact from extreme heat on ageing populations because of poorer thermoregulation, diminished physiological adaption, limited fluid intake, social isolation and cognitive impairment. It was of interest that a number of the Spanish researchers and gerontologists had not considered extreme heat to be a major issue for ageing populations.
Relationship between Australia’s ageing population and temperature variation 1880 to 2016
Some ways to adapt for climate change were discussed including education about heat for ageing populations, political mobilisation against a background of world leadership sceptical about climate change and the development of an age friendly app to assist ageing populations to navigate their external environment.
In summary, the problem of the health of the ageing against a background of climate change is similar in both Spain and Australia with far greater challenges for Spain because of the ageing population size and the economic environment.
About the Author
Deborah Black is a Visiting Professor at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing and Professor of Health Data Management at the University of Sydney, Australia. Deborah’s main research area is the impact of the environment on health with a particular emphasis on ageing populations.
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