Extreme heat poses a greater risk to younger populations than the elderly, according to a new analysis which revealed that 75 per cent of heat-related deaths in Mexico from 1998-2019 occurred among those aged under 35 years.

Researchers, including those from Columbia University, US, said the findings challenge the conventional belief that the elderly population are especially vulnerable to extreme heat on its head.

“It’s a surprise. The young are physiologically the most robust people in the population. I would love to know why this is so,” co-author Jeffrey Shrader of the Center for Environmental Economics and Policy, Columbia University’s Climate School, said.