Heat Stress: New Research Shows Lower Threshold, Urgent Need For Action

New research shows that the human body's ability to tolerate heat and humidity is lower than previously thought.

The relentless heat and humidity are taking a toll on every living creature on Earth. Wildlife is searching for shady areas and water sources, and crops continue to wither under the relentless sun. It impacts ecosystems all over the world, agriculture, and human health.

Climate change, though not a new issue, has only led to increased frequencies and intensities of extreme weather phenomena, which added to already increasing degradation, making controlling global warming an imperative.

Extreme heat with high humidity can be lethal, and, with global warming, their incidence is on the rise. The body loses heat by sweating, but in hot and steamy conditions, the sweating process ceases and the body temperature shoots up precariously.