What Happens To Your Body During A Heatwave, Explained

Parents editor at HuffPost UK

Yet another heatwave is on the way for parts of England this week, with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) issuing an amber heat-health alert for the East Midlands, East of England, South East and London.

The alert is in place from 9am on 29 July, to 9am on 30 July.

A yellow heat-health alert has also been issued for Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands and South West regions for the same time period.

Dr Agostinho Sousa, Head of Extreme Events and Health Protection at UKHSA, said: “Sustained periods of warm weather can result in serious negative health outcomes across the population, so it is important that everyone takes sensible precautions while enjoying the sun.

“Based on the current forecast, we don’t currently expect the health impacts to be as high as the heatwave we saw at the end of June but older adults and those with pre-existing conditions are still at risk.”

With heat health alerts becoming a more common occurrence during the British summer, we looked into exactly how such high temperatures can impact the body – and why it’s so important to try and stay cool.

When it’s hot for an extended period of time, the body’s internal temperature may rise, making your heart rate increase and vessels expand to bring more blood to the outer layers of skin, where the heat is then released.

If this heat isn’t released fast enough or the surrounding air is warmer than the body, your sweat glands will try to cool you down.

This is all well and good, but Dr Luke Powles, associate clinical director of Health Clinics Bupa Global and UK, told HuffPost UK sweating means a loss of fluid.

“This can lead to a drop in blood pressure,” he explained, “causing the heart to beat more rapidly, making the heart work harder to maintain a cooler body.”

“People with heart conditions and other........

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