The acute heat within the northern hemisphere is putting an increasing strain on healthcare systems, hitting those least capable of cope the toughest, the World Health Organization said Wednesday.
The WHO said the warmth often worsens pre-existing conditions, saying it was particularly concerned about those with cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and asthma.
Thousands and thousands of individuals across three continents are enduring a sustained spell of dangerous heat on Wednesday as temperature records tumble.
“Extreme heat takes the best toll on those least capable of manage its consequences, similar to older people, infants and youngsters, and the poor and homeless,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“It also puts increased pressure on health systems,” he told a news conference.
“Exposure to excessive heat has wide-ranging impacts for health, often amplifying pre-existing conditions and leading to premature death and disability.”
The WHO was working with the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), its fellow Geneva-based UN agency, to support countries in developing hot-weather motion plans to coordinate preparedness and reduce the impacts of excessive heat on health, he added.
Maria Neira, the WHO’s public health and environment chief, said the agency was particularly concerned about pregnant women and folks with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and asthma, as air pollution can be a part of the issue.
Local and national governments needed to discover all those potentially in danger, while hospitals should ensure that they had an motion plan in place, she added.
Neira also said communities needed to get the message out on avoiding sport throughout the hottest a part of the day, finding a cool place indoors, looking for the vulnerable, and being aware of warmth stroke or heat exhaustion.
Experts have blamed the heatwaves on climate change, driven by the burning of fossil fuels releasing the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
“That might be helping us to scale back the heatwaves in an important way.”
City officials needed to think through their urban planning to make sure people had refuges in times of maximum heat, she added.
The UN’s WMO weather agency has said repeated high overnight temperatures are a selected health risk since the body is unable to recuperate from hot days, resulting in more heart attacks and deaths.