Extreme heat

Available for over a year

As temperature records are broken around the world. People around world share with host James Reynolds how to negotiate the warm weather and how the heat is affecting their lives. “It’s 37 degrees here right now,” says Allison in Doha, Qatar, “but we’re at 59% humidity so it’s feeling like 52 degrees outside. If you can imagine just stepping outside into a sauna, that’s basically what it’s like.” Allison discusses her experiences with Julia in Brittany, France, and Alia, a doctor in Lahore, Pakistan. Her hospital has seen many people already admitted with heatstroke with some dying as a result. They also share how to keep cool and there are messages with similar advice from people living in Uganda, Saudi Arabia and Trinidad and Tobago. Experts agree that climate change is responsible for the extreme weather and two meteorologists - Nokuthula Khwela in South Africa and Isabel Moreno in Spain - explain how they communicate the science to their audiences. A TV audience, for instance, requires a different approach to readers of a book. “You have to try not to talk about only science and data,” says Moreno, who is also a TV host in Madrid. “We are talking about climate change from a health point of view. Here in Spain, we estimate that almost 500 people could have died because of heat during this week. So it’s about mortality.” (Photo: Men drink water by the Milan's Duomo cathedral at Duomo square, as temperatures soar during a heatwave in Milan, Italy, July 21, 2022. Credit: REUTERS/Massimo Pinca)