Temperatures reached close to 35 degrees Celsius in England today and an amber heat health alert has been issued by the government. St James’s Park in London saw England’s top temperature of 34.7oC (94.4oF), while parts of Essex and Kent also topped 33oC, according to the BBC.
Overall, last month was the warmest June on record in England, and second warmest in the UK since records began in 1884. This creates a number of issues, including additional pressure being placed on public services. Health and social care professionals who are in the frontline when it comes to dealing with heat-related health risks, especially for vulnerable people.
Oxford University academics (Smith School of Enterprise and Environment) Dr Radhika Khosla and Dr Laurence Wainwright have been considering the impact of extreme heat on health, cooling, energy demand and infrastructure.
London heats up fastest
Khosla has been examining geographical patterns, observing: “Populations in urban areas like London are particularly susceptible to extreme heat as the concrete and asphalt absorb and re-emit the sun’s radiation, amplifying its impact on our bodies. For this reason, outdoor workers are particularly at risk and should take regular breaks to hydrate in the shade.”
Khosla also notes an increased drain on energy supplies, with the risk of power cuts occurring: “Soaring temperatures will see a corresponding rise in demand for cooling systems like air conditioning, which can put a strain on our energy infrastructure. Air conditioning and other cooling systems become crucial to maintaining health, productivity and quality of life amidst rising temperatures. However, access to cooling is unfortunately rarely equal even in developed countries, and the UK’s most disadvantaged people will bear the brunt of this heatwave.”
There is also a dilemma when it comes to climate change considerations, that Khosla points out: “Over-reliance on air conditioning creates a negative feedback loop: more fossil fuels are burnt to power more air-con units, which in turn worsens climate change and raises global temperatures. Use of fans, shade, green spaces and natural ventilation can all help to reduce air conditioning usage. When we have to rely on air-con, it is important to make sure the systems we are using are the most energy efficient.”
Wainwright considers ill-health effects, focusing on mental health considerations, finding: “While news coverage of hot weather usually includes images of sunbathing and ice creams, an often-overlooked consequence of heatwaves is their negative impact on our mental health and behaviour.”
Citing examples, Wainwright catalogues: “Violent incidents increase, depression worsens and the effect of psychiatric medications on our body can be altered. For every 1°C increase in monthly average temperature, mental health-related deaths increase by around 2.2%. Spikes in relative humidity also result in a higher occurrence of suicide. Learning to adapt to the increasing frequency of heatwaves brought by climate change will mean taking account of all its impacts – including on our state of mind.”
