As temperatures rise around the world, the number of heat-related deaths increases. ‘Euronews’ speaks to an expert to find out how to avoid putting yourself at risk.
With rising temperatures, many countries around the world are experiencing a extreme heat which has caused an increase in heat-related deaths. In Saudi Arabia, the death of more than 1,300 people was announced during the pilgrimage to Mecca in June. Many of the deaths were due to heat strokesince temperatures in Mecca, the city where the Hajj pilgrimage takes place, reached up to 50°C.
A similar pattern has been observed in Europawhere many countries are giving the voice of alarm about upcoming heat waves and advising the population to take the necessary precautionssince in some deaths are already being recorded due to high temperatures.
In GreeceFor example, three tourists were found dead in one week in which temperatures reached 43°C. To deal with this situation, many European countries, especially those most exposed to heat waves, are rushing to implement Emergency plans.
This is not a new phenomenon on the continent, which has recorded a high number of heat-related deaths in recent years, especially during the summer.
According to A study from last year, only in the year 2022died in Europe61,672 people due to heat-related causes between May and September.
How the heat can kill you
Camilo Mora, a climate scientist and professor at the University of Hawaii, has studied how heat can be deadly. In an article of which he is co-author, Mora identified 27 different shapes in which people can die from extreme heat and it all comes down to which organ fails first.
Mora explains that, when the body is exposed to high temperatures, its first answer is the sweating. “Basically, the mechanism by which the body gets rid of that heat is through sweat evaporation. And for that to happen, the outside temperature in the air has to be lower than the body temperature,” Mora explains to ‘Euronews’.
“As long as the outside temperature is equal to or higher, the temperature created by the body cannot leave it, and that creates a condition called hypothermiabasically the inability of the body to release the heat it generates“he added.
Once the body cannot cool down, reacts by managing blood flow to give priority to Corporal temperature regulation, a mechanism that in some cases could cause death. “The priority is to cool the body and to do this it extracts all the blood from the body and sends it to the skin so that, through the evaporation of sweat, that blood can turn cold“Mora explained.
Sometimesthis action of diverting blood to the skin can put pressure on the heartwhich begins to pump blood faster to regulate blood pressure, which ends up causing a heart attack. Other times, this same mechanism can also cause a organ failure.
For example, At very high temperatures, the brain prioritizes blood flow to 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, causing many health problems that can lead to death.
“Los white blood cells They begin to enter and attack it, as a defense mechanism, which creates the coagulation. And then this coagulation reaches the kidneys, blocks them and, if your kidneys are in poor condition, it can be a way to die,” explains Mora, who adds that sometimes coagulationor blood clotting, can also reach the brain and create life-threatening problems.
Who is most at risk of dying from heat
“There are two groups of people very affected by heat: elderly people“explains Mora. “The reason is that your skin is already damaged by years of use, so it is not as efficient at thermoregulating,” he added.
Mora further explains that young children are also at high risk because their body heats up faster than that of adults. Furthermore, the people with obesity They may have difficulty dissipating heat, which also makes them more vulnerable to heat.
According to Mora, the people who use substances that can alter the brain’s ability to recognize and respond to high temperatures, such as drugs or alcohol, are also at risk. “When exposed to these drugs, the brain does not understand that it is exposed and stops activating the mechanism by which it can really cool down,” explains Mora.
Symptoms and precautions
When it comes to preventing heat death, prevention is better than cure, and recognize symptoms early from heat-related illnesses can save lives.
According to Mora, some of these symptoms are sweatingwhich is the body’s first response to exposure to heat, the incrise of cardiac frecuencyWith feelings of dizziness and loss of consciousness.
To reduce the risk of dying from heat, the main strategy is avoid exposure and stay indoors The most time possible. Other forms of avoid sunstroke son stay hydratedcarry loose, light-colored clothing, avoid the sun during peak temperatures and also avoid extreme exercise and excess alcohol.
ADVERTISINGLong-termMora considers especially useful the urban planificationespecially the planting more trees in citieswhich can help cool urban areas and reduce the overall heat load borne by the population.
