Health Check: how can extreme heat lead to death?

Our climate is becoming hotter. This is our reality. Extreme heat is already responsible for hundreds of deaths every year. It’s a big environmental killer, and deaths from heatwaves in Australian cities are expected to double in the next 40 years.

Our climate is going to get warmer, and we
need to protect ourselves from heat-related illness. 

Those most at risk are the elderly, people with chronic illness, those living in socioeconomic disadvantage, outdoor workers, and athletes who play their sport in brutally high temperatures. But extreme heat can affect anyone at any age.

So, what happens in our body during times of extreme heat? And how can it lead to fatal consequences?

Read the piece on The Conversation by the Emeritus Professor of Medicine from the University of Adelaide, David Shearman -  “Health Check: how can extreme heat lead to death?”