Extreme heat is a silent killer. From time to time, we hear about shocking cases of football players and other athletes who die suddenly while exerting themselves on hot days. Those deaths are certainly tragic, but statistically they are very rare.
Most deaths from extreme heat are in older people , who frequently die alone inside their homes. They often die slowly, as the heat creeps up to and sometimes past body temperature, especially when heat domes park themselves over cities and keep the temperature high all day and all night. When such deaths happen, they rarely make the news.
Of all the climate change disasters our world is already experiencing, heat is the top killer, as the World Meteorological Organization reported . The planet was more than 1.5 C above the pre-industrial baseline for 12 consecutive months from July 2023 to June 2024.
In July this year, we saw the hottest three days ever on record, prompting a special statement from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres . Health risks and heat Our bodies are made to dump excess heat when we are too warm, but that process goes into reverse when the air is warmer than our core temperature. Our other main defence, sweating, doesn’t help when humidity saturates the air, making it impossible for our own moisture to evaporate.
For the frail and elderly, who are more likely to be labouring with heart troubles, COPD or other challenges, simply sitting still in a heat wave requires an effort equivalent to walk.