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Heatwave: This Is How Dangerous Extreme Heat Is to Humans

Heatwave: The Silent Killer of Thousands Each Year, and It's Only Going to Get Worse. The Alarming Headlines from India Grappling with an Extreme Heatwave in Recent Days Serve as a Stark Warning.

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Heatwave | How much heat is too much? | James Goldie, 360info | Credits CC BY 4.0

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Heatwave: The Silent Killer

Heat is the silent killer of thousands each year and is only going to get worse.

The headlines coming out of India as it grappled with an extreme heatwave the past few days have been alarming.

A weather station in Delhi recorded a temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius, which, if confirmed, would be a national record. Animals have died, students have fainted at schools and drinking water taps have dried up. A labourer reportedly died of heatstroke on Thursday.

It's not only India. Mexico is in the grip of a heatwave that has killed at least 48 people since March. The "heat dome" hovering over the central American nation is set to move to the United States in coming days.

Heat is the silent killer that is responsible for more deaths than any other natural disaster. Several severe European heatwave in recent decades, including last summer, have claimed tens of thousands of excess deaths.

Death tolls in developing countries are not properly counted and probably much larger.

But worse is coming and we need to prepare for it.

The average surface temperature on Earth is now at its highes

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