As World Elder Abuse Awareness Day is observed annually on June 15, HelpAge India released a study ‘Climate Resilient Ageing - Ensuring Care, Dignity & Agency’ to mark the occasion this year.

The study tracks the ways climate change is disrupting the lives of senior citizens across the country. Nirmala Balagopal, former Princial Secretary of Tamil Nadu, released the study and said its findings should be translated to policy. “That should be the ultimate goal, rather than treating it as merely another report,” she said.

The study covered 2,224 elderly persons across 10 States and found that the country’s rural ageing population has been thoroughly vulnerable to climate change and how disadvantaged senior citizens face even higher risks and challenges. It identified heat stress as a major concern for elderly persons who are in poorly ventilated houses, and found that 78% of respondents had experienced climate-related hazard in the last three years.

“We have been seeing how natural disasters affect the senior citizen population far more than other demographics. This year, we wanted to focus on climate change because it directly affects their health. We need to start preparing the elderly on how they could cope with these challenges,” says Edwin Babu, director-Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, HelpAge India.

G. Dhinagaran, assistant professor, Centre for Environment Studies, Anna University, spoke about El Nino and urban heat islands and the adversities they pose.

“Compared to the cities, rural areas have far fewer hospitals and healthcare facilities. Dehydration is very common among the rural ageing population because they mostly toil outside, and even if they are feeling any kind of discomfort, there are not as many ambulance services compared to urban spaces,” added P.P. Ramaswami, former dean, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.

Meanwhile, Senthur Pari, president of ExNoRA International, said World Elder Abuse Awareness Day should be discussed in schools, and students should be made aware of the difficulties faced by the elderly.