- Storm Helene kills 44, threatens more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Boeing strike grinds on as latest talks fail to reach agreement
- Iran 'news' sites, hackers target Trump ahead of US election
- US ports brace for potential dockworkers strike
- Japan's speedy, spotless Shinkansen bullet trains turn 60
- US hurricane deaths rise to 44, fears of more 'catastrophic' flooding
- Global stocks mostly rise, cheering Beijing stimulus
- Europe en route for Moon with new simulator, says astronaut Pesquet
- Fireworks forecast if comet survives risky Sun flypast
- Argentina judge orders dictionary to delete pejorative definition of 'Jewish'
- Global stocks rise on rate hopes, Beijing stimulus
- S.African woman turns 118, among the oldest in the world
- UK clears $4 bn AI partnership between Amazon, Anthropic
- Barca fans barred from Champions League away game over racist banner
- Chinese stocks extend surge, Europe higher on Beijing stimulus
- Pope says Church must 'seek forgiveness' for child sexual abuse
- China caps week of 'bazooka' stimulus for ailing economy with rate cut
- Cuts, cash, credit: China bids to jumpstart flagging economy
- France's debt weighs heavier ahead of budget debate
- Iran treads carefully, backing Hezbollah while avoiding war
- Return to sender: waste stranded at sea stirs toxic dispute
- 'Broken' news industry faces uncertain future
- On remote Greek island, migratory birds offer climate clues
- Taken from mother by nuns, victim seeks answers as pope visits Belgium
- China cuts amount banks hold in reserve to boost lending
- Hong Kong, Shanghai extend surge as China optimism boosts markets
- Vietnam president reiterates support for Cuba during official visit
- Drought reduces Amazon River in Colombia by as much as 90%: report
- Stay or go? Pacific Islanders face climate's grim choice
- Florida bracing for 'unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene
- Poverty rises to over 52 percent in Milei's Argentina
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala Harris
- Champagne houses abuzz over English sparkling wine
- Macron, Trudeau pledge to work for 'decarbonized' economies
- Hurricanes, storms, typhoons... Is September wetter than usual?
- China stimulus, tech optimism boost stock markets
- 'Unsurvivable' Hurricane Helene races towards Florida
- Macron meets Trudeau in Canada as both face political setbacks
- South Korea surges in UN innovation index
- Chloe's see-through look may not be for Kamala
- Floods threaten Niger's historic 'gateway to the desert'
- China economy hopes boost global equities
- Ubisoft shares sink after 'Assassin's Creed' delay
- German economy to shrink again in 2024: think tanks
- Hong Kong's New World Development replaces CEO Adrian Cheng
- Swiss central bank cuts rate again amid strong franc worries
- Germany's BASF to focus on 'core units' in major overhaul
- China admits economy facing new 'problems', vows to fix property sector
- Stock markets boosted by China hopes, tech rally
- Bangladesh revolution sparks new hopes among Rohingya
During a heatwave, temperatures not the only threat: expert
Spain has just emerged from a 21-day heatwave that engulfed Madrid, Barcelona and Zaragoza, posing a health threat which extends far beyond the actual temperature, according to Julio Diaz, a researcher at Madrid's Carlos III Health Institute.
- Isn't heat what kills during a heatwave? -
"The impact of heat on health is far more than just temperature... its effect can be felt across income levels, age groups, socio-economic conditions, healthcare, and different cultural approaches to heat," says Diaz.
"We divided Spain into 182 regions... and in each one, we worked out the temperature at which people start to die as a result of the heat. In Seville, 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) is not even classed as a heatwave, whereas in A Coruna (in northwestern Spain), the temperature which defines a heatwave is 26 degrees.
"When there is a heatwave, only 3.0 percent of mortality is due to heat stroke. Heat kills by aggravating other illnesses."
- Why are the first heatwaves the most deadly? -
"In the first heatwave (of the year) much more people are likely to be susceptible (to death) than the second because it claims the frailest, leaving fewer susceptible people in the second and fewer still in the third... That's why the first heatwave always has a greater impact on mortality. This is what in epidemiology we call the 'harvest effect'."
- Why are living standards a factor? -
"It's clear that the impact of heat is much greater in poorer neighbourhoods.
"It is not the same thing to experience a heatwave in a room with three people and one window and no air conditioning or fan, than going through the same thing in a villa with a swimming pool.
It's not even a question of having air conditioning or not, but about being able to turn it on. During this heatwave, the price of electricity in Spain skyrocketed."
- What is heatstroke? -
"Heatstroke happens when a person is exposed to high temperatures... and their body is not able to regulate that temperature. If you go out in the sun at 42C or exercise at those temperatures, your body is unable -- no matter how much it sweats, which is the main mechanism for regulating heat -- to lower and maintain its temperature at 37C.
When your body is no longer at 37C... your organs stop working properly, including your brain. Then hyperthermia sets in and the person can die."
- What is 'heat culture'? -
"In 2003, Europe suffered a brutal heatwave and 70,000 people died in 15 days. People were not prepared, and there were no prevention plans, which meant it had a brutal impact on mortality. Now nobody doubts that heat kills.
But people adapt. Between 1983 to 2003, for every degree above the temperature classed as a heatwave, the mortality in Spain increased by 14 percent. But after 2003, it barely increased by three percent.
In a city like Madrid, you never used to see older people wearing shorts but nowadays they all wear them -- you see them going out for a walk wearing a hat and with a bottle of water.
In places where they are used to having heatwaves, there are now much more air conditioning units and secondly, homes are much more adapted to cope with this heat.
People don't go out from 3:00 pm, that's why the siesta exists in Spain. And in the southern Andalusia region, the villages are painted white and the streets are wide so the wind can freely circulate."
H.Müller--CPN