Rising global temperatures are prompting countries around the world to take precautions against dangerous, potentially deadly heat waves. Experts warn of the risks and offer recommendations to protect us.
Heat can kill. PHOTO Archive
With the global heatwave intensifying, many nations are battling extreme temperatures that are causing an alarming number of deaths. Saudi Arabia reported more than 1,300 deaths during the Hajj pilgrimage this month, according to euronews.ro
Many of these deaths were caused by heat stress, as temperatures in Mecca, the pilgrimage’s host city, reached as high as 50 degrees Celsius.
A similar scenario is being observed in Europe, where countries are preparing for imminent heat waves and advising the population to take precautions. Unfortunately, some areas are already recording deaths due to the heat wave. Greece, for example, reported three dead tourists within a week, with temperatures reaching 43 degrees Celsius.
To counter these dangers, European countries, especially those most vulnerable to heat waves, are implementing emergency plans.
Heatwave is not new to the continent, with the number of associated deaths increasing in recent years, especially during the summer.
Research from the previous year shows that more than 61,000 people in Europe died from the heat between May and September 2022 alone.
How heat can kill – which organ fails first
Camilo Mora, a climatologist and professor at the University of Hawaii, has studied how heat can become fatal. In a recent paper, he identified 27 different ways people could die from extreme heat, and it all comes down to which organ fails first, according to the source cited.
When exposed to high temperatures, Mora explains, the body’s first response is sweating.
“Basically, the mechanism by which the body gets rid of that heat is through the evaporation of sweat. And for this to happen, the temperature in the air must be lower than the body temperatureMora told Euronews Health.
“Whenever the temperature outside is the same or higher, the temperature created by the body cannot leave the body and this creates a condition called hypothermia, basically the inability of the body to release the heat it generates“, he added.
Because it cannot cool itself, the body reacts by managing blood flow to prioritize body temperature regulation, a mechanism that in some cases could cause death.
“The priority is to cool the body, and to do this, the body sends as much blood as possible to the skin, so that by evaporating the sweat, the blood coolsMora said.
And Italy is struggling with scorching temperatures. PHOTO Profimedia
Sometimes this action of directing blood to the skin can put pressure on the heart, which starts pumping blood faster to regulate blood pressure, eventually leading to a heart attack.
For example, at very high temperatures, the brain prioritizes blood flow for essential functions and reduces it to less critical organs such as the stomach.
This can damage the intestinal lining, allowing the contents of the intestine to enter the bloodstream, which causes many health problems that can lead to death.
Risk categories
“There are two groups of people who are heavily affected by this – the elderly. The reason for this is that their skin is already more battered, so it is not as efficient in the thermoregulatory mechanismMora added.
Mora also says that young children are also at high risk because their bodies heat up faster than adults. Also, obese people struggle with heat.
