A man refreshing himself by pouring cold water on his head during a scorching day in the Mediterranean Sea in Beirut, Lebanon, on July 16, 2023. The rising temperatures and humidity levels can turn into a critical struggle within the human body, where a few degrees can determine life or death. Credit: AP Photo/Hassan Ammar, File
When temperatures and humidity levels rise, the human body faces a life-threatening challenge that can be determined by just a slight change in temperature.
Recent research has shown that the threshold for illness and fatalities due to extreme heat is lower than previously believed, as experts conducted experiments exposing individuals to high temperatures to observe the effects.
As heatwaves plague regions like the United States, Mexico, India, and the Middle East, exacerbated by climate change, medical professionals and experts shed light on the impact of extreme heat on the human body.
The body’s normal core temperature hovers around 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius).
According to Ollie Jay, a heat and health professor at the University of Sydney, a mere 7 degrees (4 Celsius) separate this baseline from the dangerous territory of heatstroke.
Dr. Neil Gandhi, the director of emergency medicine at Houston Methodist Hospital, emphasized that during heatwaves, individuals presenting with a fever of 102 degrees or higher without an apparent cause may be at risk of heat exhaustion or heatstroke.
2024-06-21 19:15:02
Source from phys.org