Extreme heat can kill or cause long-term health problems – but for many unendurable temperatures are the new normal.

The impact of extreme heat on the human body is not unlike what happens when a car overheats.

The heart, the kidneys, and the body become more and more heated and eventually our cognitive abilities begin to desert us – and that’s when people begin fainting, eventually going into a coma and dying.”.

It is most likely to disproportionately affect the poor, the sick – those with chronic conditions, or heart and kidney disease in particular – and older people.

Each organ responds differently to extreme heat exposure, with symptoms that quickly become fatal or cause lingering damage from which the body may never fully recover.

“Every human being is at risk from extreme heat – it’s a fact of life, your body needs to function in a certain environment,” says McGeehin.

Vancamp published a book this year about how the human body deals with external challenges, such as extreme heat.

University of Edinburgh researchers found exposure to extreme heat increases the risk of heart disease in firefighters.

Johnson says that his research and others also show that recurrent heat stress and dehydration could cause chronic kidney disease.