Numerous health officials from the US, UK, Japan, and Europe have constantly warned residents to try and stay out of the sun as much as possible. The northern hemisphere experiences the highest early summer temperatures recorded in history.
Not only are officials concerned about the risks of heat stroke, but the warnings also come in light of long-term consequences.
Heat Waves and Public Health
Climate change has been driving summer temperatures higher and higher every year. Meanwhile, medical researchers are beginning to find a relationship between sustained heat exposure and chronic health conditions ranging from kidney stones to diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular diseases.
Richard J Johnson, a medical professor at the University of Colorado and one of the world's experts on the intersection of heat stress and kidney diseases, explains that while increased risks for heat stroke is a pronounced effect of global warming, climate change is causing numerous health problems today, in both direct and indirect ways, reports Time.
Johnson adds that increased temperatures bring elevated risks of dehydration, which causes cognitive dysfunction, acute kidney injuries, and high blood pressure. In time, the chronically dehydrated are less able to excrete body toxins, leaving higher concentrations of glucose and salts in the kidneys and blood serum.
These substances are linked with increased risks of diabetes and metabolic syndrome, a medical term describing a combination of high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high cholesterol, and abdominal obesity that is said to afflict almost a quarter of US adults, according to a 2004 study. Experts believe that as temperatures continue to rise, it is likely that incidences of metabolic diseases will also increase along with concurrent risks of heart attack and stroke.
Increased Temperatures Lead to Increases Health Risks
Another possible negative impact of increasing temperatures is increased incidences of kidney stones. A 2008 article published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, titled "Climate-related increase in the prevalence of urolithiasis in the United States," argues that one unanticipated result of increasing global temperatures is likely northward expansion of the present south-eastern US kidney stone belt, where both heat and humidity are higher, and cases concentrated. The risk of developing kidney stones is hasted by either low fluid intake or excessive fluid loss, both of which occur during high temperatures.
The study's authors found that, based on climate change-induced temperature projections, the percentage of the US population living in high-risk zones for developing kidney stones is believed to grow from 40% in 2000 to 56% by 2050. And 70% by 2095.
Even if kidney stones do not develop, consistent exposure to dehydration and high heat, especially for agricultural laborers, has been shown in some cases to cause irreversible kidney damage.
Johnson is about to publish a new paper that analyzes the links between dehydration and obesity, with obvious implications for people living in hotter areas. He explains that when animals start to develop dehydration, which triggers the production of fructose from carbs. The fructose, in turn, stimulates the production of vasopressin which helps store water in the animal's body. However, vasopressin is also known to stimulate the production of fat.
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