Heatwave in the Northern Hemisphere: How much temperature a human can withstand

The High temperature To break records across the Northern Hemisphere, in the middle of a Heat wave It doesn’t stop and is already creating consequences for people’s health.

This week, Death Valley in California reached record high temperatures 53.3°CPhoenix, Arizona, meanwhile, broke a record with 19 consecutive days of heat. 43.3°CAlong with many nights not falling below 32.2°C.

On the other side of the Atlantic, Europe made its mark 48.8°C Recorded in 2021 on the island Sicily, in Italy, is considered the highest temperature ever officially recorded on the Old Continent. But under the scorching heat of this new heat wave, that number could be exceeded in no time.

The extreme temperature Concern across the Northern Hemisphere. From California to China, officials urged people to take steps to protect themselves from the heat, stay properly hydrated and take care of the sun. Several areas are on red alert due to the “severe risk” of high temperatures.

To begin with, it is worth clarifying that the body’s goal is to maintain a core temperature of 37°C.

As explained by Professor Louise Halsey, one of the researchers from the University of Roehampton A recent study On that day Upper core temperature, “The body works hard to maintain its core temperature, and it doesn’t like it to change.” And he asserted that there was a maximum temperature that the human body could reach before it began to fail.

Therefore, the researchers found that the human body can safely tolerate the temperature 40 to 50 degrees Celsius. After reaching this mark, the body experiences what experts call “heat stress”A condition that causes confusion, nausea, dizziness, headache and fainting.

As they noted – when it’s hot, the body works harder to return to its predetermined temperature and opens blood vessels near the skin to sweat and lose heat.

Halsey and his colleagues don’t have to compromise anyone’s safety to determine the limits of our bodies. “We recorded a Increased metabolic rate”, he explained about the experiment conducted on four men and three women, while emphasizing that “metabolic rate measures how much energy the human body uses to continue working”.

A number of things can happen when the body gets too hot, Hulsey said, because extreme heat can raise the temperature, leading to a dangerous build-up that can lead to health problems and even death.

“The proteins The body starts to decay, stops working and nerve impulses don’t work. He Nervous System It is less effective and is an integral part of the body. Start affecting the heart‘Because the heart is a muscle unto itself,’ said Halsey. If it leads to an arrhythmia (an abnormal heart rhythm) and the heart is not pumping blood effectively around the body because it is ‘out of sync’, it can cause low oxygen levels. If oxygen levels are not maintained in the brain, that person is in real trouble.”

Another study A recent study in New York found that warming will increase Mental diseasesAnd researchers found hot days had higher emergency hospital visits by patients suffering from anxiety, schizophrenia, dementia and substance abuse.

Obviously, the answer to the effects of heat on the body goes beyond temperature. It’s all about humidity.

A job A study by Knoll Laboratory researchers at Pennsylvania State University that examined heat stress in healthy young men and women in a controlled environment chamber showed that the combination of temperature and humidity can start to harm even healthy people.

The investigation was designed to elicit a combination of two parameters measured as “wet bulb temperature”. Together, heat and humidity put people at greater risk.And the compound can become dangerous at lower levels than scientists previously believed, the researchers found.

“Our studies show that This upper environmental limit is below 35°C The researchers concluded that This occurs at a wet bulb temperature of approx 31°C in various environments above 50% humidity Relative, it is equal to 30.5 C at 100% humidity or 38 C at 60% humidity.

Current heat waves around the world exceed those critical environmental limits And experts warned that the theoretical wet-bulb limit of 35 degrees Celsius, if not exceeded, would be approaching.

The results of these studies provide important information to protect health at a time when the planet, and the European continent in particular, is experiencing unprecedented temperatures.

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