Thanks for your article Kate. As a professional working in the field of Geriatric Health, I'm constantly amazed by how little our organisation takes climate change and wasteful practices into account. Upper management is always screaming about the "budget" and how we're wasting too many of 'these' or too many of 'those' and yet they're the same people who have introduced tiny plastic containers for such things as ice cream, sandwiches, custard etc. After every meal, we have two rubbish bins full of discarded plastic waste. That same plastic waste could not be produced without oil. More oil use = more green house emissions. Todays oil is very expensive and yet we're making use of more and more plastics. Land fills are full of the stuff. Overuse of oil and it's products have a direct bearing on climate change and we're all responsible. I'd particularly welcome a regular discussion group in my working environment which could look at ways to reduce our dependance on fossil fuels which would lead in time to a more stable climate.
Just on the matter of older people and heat, we find one of the major causes of heat stress is lack of fluid intake. Old people will not drink. Without onboard fluids, they produce insufficient sweat. Without perspiration, the body can quickly reach that magic 42+ degree mark after which life threatening factors apply. In hot weather, it's important to keep fluid up to those vulnerable to heat stress and get used to living without AC. Our Wordly resources are being stretched to the limit now and will only get much worse into the future.

Narcissist,

I take your point and I'm aware of it but as you say "We have lots of ways of getting rid of heat, evaporation from sweat being just one of them." And this was the point of my comment. Humans are able to tolerate high temperatures for extended periods. Outdoor workers know not to dehydrate.

As you also said "These coping strategies may be diminished in the elderly." They may, but that also begs the qestion as to why Australian elderly in western NSW don't die in heat waves to the extent that the Europeans did. I'd say two reasons: we're used to such temperatures and our buildings are designed for them. The second point was the gist of the article.

Perhaps we also know not to get dehydrated so as well as infrastructure changes we should also concentrate on the human input to the potential problem.

Steve Madden is quite right about the harvesting phenomenon: there has been an academic study of the French death statistics in the months following and they show the downward blip that is usually associated with an adverse environmental situation like a pollution episode or major temperature departures.

On the topic of death rates and temperature, there is an enormous epidemiological literature on this area and it really boils down to the finding that it is cold, not hot, departures from the norm that dominate the mortality statistics.

Elderly pple could just wear wet T-shirts when it gets hot..works a treat and very cost effective:)

Elderly people could not wear wet 'T' shirts Rachel06 because of water restrictions.