Prelims: Current events of national and international importance| International relations
Why in news?
Recent studies suggest that extreme heat is becoming an urban inequality crisis across Africa.
- Researchers screened 96,608 records using PRISMA 2020 guidelines.
- Studies covered South Africa – 7, Kenya – 6, Tanzania – 4, Cameroon, Egypt, Nigeria and Ghana – 1 each.
- 17 studies examined heat-related illness. 4 studies examined mortality.
Kibera slum, Africa’s largest slum in the heart of Nairobi, Kenya.
Health Impacts of Extreme Heat
- Direct Effects
- Dehydration and heat exhaustion
- Heatstroke
- Headache and dizziness
- Muscle cramps and fatigue
- Sleep disturbances
- Respiratory symptoms
- Fainting and irritability
- Indirect Effects
- It can worsen cardiovascular and respiratory diseases.
- It influences diseases such as malaria, cholera and tuberculosis.
- It can aggravate diarrhoea, hypertension, pneumonia and malnutrition.
- It is linked with mental health and reproductive health problems.
- Vulnerable Groups – Children, Pregnant women, People with existing health conditions, Residents of informal settlements.
- Factors increasing heat vulnerability
- Poor-quality housing
- Overcrowding
- Inadequate ventilation
- Limited access to water
- Poverty
- Insecure employment
- Weak healthcare and public infrastructure
- Limited adaptive capacity.
- Way forward – Effective adaptation requires addressing both heat exposure and underlying socioeconomic vulnerabilities.
PRISMA 2020 guidelines
- PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) are an updated reporting standard.
- Purpose – To help authors transparently explain why a systematic review was done, what methods were used, and what results were found.
- PRISMA 2020 reflects decades of modern advancements in data synthesis, risk-of-bias tools, and digital automation software.
Reference
Down To Earth| Extreme Heat & Urban Inequality crisis in Africa
