Title: Heat and Health
Headings: Heat and Health
Heat and Health
Key facts
Overview
Who is affected?
How does heat impact health?
What actions should the public take?
Keep your home cool
Keep out of the heat
Keep the body cool and hydrated
Help others
If you have health problems
If you or others feel unwell
Heatwaves and Health
The Global Heat Health Information Network
Publication: Public health advice on preventing health effects of heat

Content: Heat gain in the human body can be caused by a combination of external heat from the environment and internal body heat generated from metabolic processes. Rapid rises in heat gain due to exposure to hotter than average conditions compromises the body’s ability to regulate temperature and can result in a cascade of illnesses, including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heatstroke, and hyperthermia. Deaths and hospitalizations from heat can occur extremely rapidly (same day), or have a lagged effect (several days later) and result in accelerating death or illness in the already frail, particularly observed in the first days of heatwaves. Even small differences from seasonal average temperatures are associated with increased illness and death. Temperature extremes can also worsen chronic conditions, including cardiovascular, respiratory, and cerebrovascular disease and diabetes-related conditions. Heat also has important indirect health effects. Heat conditions can alter human behavior, the transmission of diseases, health service delivery, air quality, and critical social infrastructure such as energy, transport, and water. The scale and nature of the health impacts of heat depend on the timing, intensity and duration of a temperature event, the level of acclimatization, and the adaptability of the local population, infrastructure and institutions to the prevailing climate. The precise threshold at which temperature represents a hazardous condition varies by region, other factors such as humidity and wind, local levels of human acclimatization and preparedness for heat conditions. What actions should the public take?