<
https://theconversation.com/extreme-heat-hurts-human-health-its-effects-must-be-mitigated-urgently-171327>
"The African continent is heating up more, and faster, than other regions in
the world according to the recently released
State of Climate in Africa
Report. By 2030, the report says up to 118 million extremely poor people will
be subject to the devastating impacts of drought and intense heat.
Many of the temperatures presently being recorded in Africa, and those
projected in the next decade, are already close to the limits of human
survival, or “liveability”.
The general limit of heat we should live in is 35°C wet-bulb temperature, which
is a measure of both air temperature and humidity. Beyond this, the body
struggles to cool itself.
In northern Mali, for example, many communities have to make do with a rainy
season of just three months, from July to September. For the rest of the year,
temperatures approach 50°C. The consequences have been catastrophic, impacting
health and agriculture and livestock activities. Younger generations have no
option but to leave as they cannot survive in these conditions.
Extreme heat is a serious health hazard. It can have very negative health
effects on the human body. The body responds to heat stress by redistributing
blood flow to the skin and producing sweat, thus cooling the body. These blood
flow changes increase the demand on the heart, making it work harder.
Additional sweat production can also lead to dehydration, reducing blood volume
which strains the heart further and also causes damage to organs such as the
kidney.
Despite this, extreme heat has drawn less attention than other climate risks,
such as flooding and drought.
The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) provides an
opportunity to focus in more detail on the health effects of extreme heat in
African countries and elsewhere. Particular attention should be paid to how
vulnerable groups like women, newborn children and poorer people can be helped
to deal with or mitigate against these effects."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
