With increased numbers of natural disasters happening, such as the current drought in East Africa and the recent succession of typhoons and earthquakes in South East Asia, it is easy to overlook the gradual but devastating effects of climate change on our planet’s weather patterns.

While not classified as a conventional emergency, freezing temperatures as low as -30C and extended winters which drag on for months in the Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan are stretching its older people’s coping strategies to breaking point.

Constant Crisis

HelpAge conducted a study “Constant Crisis” on the vulnerability of older people in Kyrgyzstan and the results were shocking. Poverty increases in extreme conditions and this situation is no exception.

Many of the country’s already poor families fall into ultra-poverty during the winter months, due to restricted heating and energy sources, fluctuating fuel and food prices, as well as poor nutrition. The need for more heating due to the extreme cold, yet the decreased access to it due to cost, is just one of the many harmful and heartbreaking by-products of climate change.

Where older people are unable to heat their homes, they face a higher risk of ill health and many are forced to stay in bed, as it is the only way of keeping warm. Children are also affected, as many cannot go to school in the winter for lack of adequate shoes or clothing for the cold.
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The BBC World Today programme is running a fascinating series this week, looking at the huge social and economic implications of  an ageing population.

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