Adaptation10: Heat, Health & the Race to Adapt

Heat kills.

Heat stress is the leading cause of weather-related deaths worldwide — and is claiming more lives each year as the climate changes. In the US alone, heat-related fatalities have increased by 117% over the past 24 years, with a significant surge since 2016. 

Extreme heat events are on the rise, too. Heatwaves are becoming more common and intense as the world warms up, with events that used to happen once every 10 years likely to occur over four times more often in a 1.5°C world and nearly six times more often in a 2°C world.

The way we live is also intensifying the health impacts of heat. For example, the growth of cities is expanding the share of the global population subject to the “urban heat island” effect, increasing heat risk and vulnerability for millions.

Small wonder, then, that extreme heat is considered an escalating public health crisis — particularly for vulnerable populations like the elderly, the chronically ill, and those with low incomes. Without access to affordable, effective cooling solutions, hundreds of thousands more people — in the Global South and North alike — will get sick and die from heat exposure.

“What we've noticed is that extreme heat is getting worse in more places, for more people, faster than people are responding to it — or having the ability to adapt to it,” says David Leathers, Director at the National Commission on Climate and Workforce Health in New York.

Healthcare systems are failing to keep pace with this accelerating threat. The 2024 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change found that only 35% of countries have health early warning systems for heat-related illness. In addition, more than 80 countries are yet to complete Health National Adaptation Plans. 

Even worse, modern medicine may be exacerbating the vulnerability of certain populations to extreme heat. A growing body of evidence suggests that the medications that millions rely on — including diuretics, beta blockers, and antidepressants — can interfere with the body’s ability to regulate heat and stay hydrated. 

It’s not just the direct effects of heat that are dangerous to human health, either. Heat also intensifies the formation of ground-level ozone, a harmful pollutant that forms when sunlight reacts with emissions from cars, factories, and other emissions sources. This can make breathing harder, especially among children, the elderly, and those with asthma or heart disease.

“Research shows that high heat combined with air pollution increases ER visits, hospitalizations, and even premature deaths,” Laura Gabor, Co-Founder of Ecologicca, a high-tech air purifying company, told Climate Proof. “Heat and air pollution together have a multiplicative effect, meaning the health impact is worse than each factor alone.”

All the data points to one unassailable conclusion: without swift adaptation, the world will see a significant rise in heat-related illness and increasing pressure on emergency health services. This will have knock-on effects for businesses and the economy, too. Productivity may decline from a surge in heat-related work absences. And in the worst case, vast regions of the world may become too dangerous to work and live in for extended periods of time.

Indeed, the economic fallout from heat-health risks is already being felt. In 2023, a record-high US$835bn of earnings was lost due to heat-related reductions in labor capacity, according to Lancet. “Extreme heat’s always been an issue for companies, and now I think there’s many realizing that they are bigger risks than they have anticipated in the past,” says Leathers.

The private sector is not blind to this threat. A whole array of start-ups and early-stage companies are working feverishly to address heat-related health risks and adapt human biology to higher temperatures.

In this month’s Adaptation10, we showcase ten companies active in the heat-health nexus offering a wide range of solutions, including:

• Immediate intervention tools bringing medical-grade cooling to healthcare providers, outdoor festivals, and workers in challenging environments.

• Passive cooling for scalable protection in public spaces.

• Real-time biometric tracking to prevent heat stress and dehydration.

• Predictive health and environment monitoring tools for context-specific early warnings.

Adaptation10 co-creator DSR & Partners is also active in the heat-health space. The company is now working closely with renowned heat and health expert Dr. Andrea Nakoinz to equip organizations with actionable strategies to address rising climate health risks. Get in touch to learn more about how DSR & Partners can help your company adapt.

It’s past time humanity treated extreme heat like the public health emergency it is. Innovation and technology can help close the gap between the risks we face and our ability to respond. While the latest Adaptation10 highlights a selection of promising solutions, they are just the beginning. To stay ahead of rising temperatures, we’ll need many more breakthroughs, and fast.

Interested in sponsoring a future edition of Adaptation10? Then get in touch here👇

Thanks for reading!

Louie Woodall & Daniel Schmitz-Remberg