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How deadly are these heatwaves – and how hot will they get?

Babies and children under 5 years of age ssare especially endangered by hot nights

As record-breaking temperatures hit the planet, stresses on the body include heatstroke and heart, kidney and lung disease

Ajit Niranjan, Harvey Symons and Antonio Voce

Sat 22 Jul 2023

Heat is a silent killer. When it gets too hot, the heart pumps faster, blood races and organs begin to fail. The stress overwhelms the body as it struggles to cool itself down. Internal temperatures rise from regular (37C) through feverish (38C) to deadly (40C).

Many people who spend most of their time outside, such as farmers, builders and the homeless, die outright from heatstroke. But far more lives are claimed by heart, lung and kidney disease made worse in hot weather. Research pegs the death toll from heat in Europe last summer at 61,672 people – more than a jumbo jet crashing out of the sky every day.

Am I safe if I stay inside during the day?

Record-breaking temperatures in the day grab the most attention. But relentless hot nights are when much of the damage is done. The body can’t cool down, dragging out the time its organs spend under stress, and people struggle to sleep, cutting into crucial recovery time.

Hot nights and bad sleep are uncomfortable for all but deadly for some. Studies show the sleep deprivation inflicted by hot weather hits older people and women hardest – the same people who die at the highest rates during heatwaves – and hot nights are associated with high mortality from heat………………………………………………………. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/jul/22/heatwaves-how-dangerous-hot-extremes

July 24, 2023 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | climate change