Climate change will increase heatwave-related deaths by up to 2,000 percent by 2080, new research shows

Future heatwaves could dramatically increase the number of heat-related deaths in the next few decades, research published in PLOS Medicine on Tuesday found.

In some tropical and subtropical regions of the world, the effects of climate change-related heatwaves could be especially devastating. Between 2031 and 2080, deaths could be up by 2,000 percent in Colombia, with similarly drastic increases in the Philippines and Brazil, the study projects. In Australia during the same time period, heatwave-related deaths could be up 471 percent.

Heatwave mortality won't increase quite as substantially in countries in the Northern Hemisphere, but the effects will still be palpable, rising at least 200 percent in the U.S. and much of Europe. Even in the best-case scenario, with greenhouse gases significantly curbed and human adaption to rising temperatures, premature deaths will increase. Older adults would be especially at risk, reports Reuters.

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"Future heatwaves in particular will be more frequent, more intense and will last much longer," said study lead Yuming Guo in a statement. The research projected different results for 20 different regions under varying circumstances, but found across the board that heatwaves over the next 60 years would be undeniably more deadly than in the past. See more study results at PLOS Medicine.