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Heat injures and kills, as we can see from the thousands of people who die of heat-related illnesses each year.
Heatwaves do have a much more dramatic effect on people living in a cool to mild climate. They experience a higher degree of stress to their bodies than acclimatized residents of subtropical and tropical regions do. For example, death rates in Great Britain and the Netherlands increase sharply when the thermometer climbs above 25°C.
Devastating heat waves in the last five years of the 20th century pose the question whether global warming has increased the frequency and severity of heat waves.
Heatwave
Deadly heatwaves
Studies showed that the majority of heat wave fatalities occur in inner-city areas. The asphalt, brick and concrete jungle absorbs heat and retains it well into the night.
On average, the inner city is 5 to 8°C hotter than the surrounding countryside – the heat island effect that NASA researched in 1998. Sensors in aircraft and satellites demonstrated that artificial surfaces reach temperatures 20°C-40°C higher than natural surfaces do – Salt Lake City rooftops, for instance, were 71°C. These figures also provide the answer: cities need more natural surfaces, especially trees, to cool down.
