Georgia Public Broadcasting Comic Explains How Extreme Heat and Humidity Can Kill

A Georgia Public Broadcasting comic explains that human bodies rely on sweat for cooling, but in high temperatures and humidity that system can do only so much, setting up the question of how heat kills.

“As summer approaches, Chatham-Kent Public Health is reminding residents that heat is more than an inconvenience; it can quickly become dangerous”

Chatham Daily News

NPR’s Maria Godoy describes how extreme heat can shut down vital systems by redirecting more blood to the skin, which can mean less blood and less oxygen go to the gut, and it warns that high humidity can make it harder for the body to cool off because sweat doesn’t evaporate as well.

Chatham Daily News

NPR’s comic lays out a chain from gut changes to wider harm, saying that if redirection of blood happens for too long, your gut can become more permeable and toxins can trigger inflammation and other effects like blood clots that can lead to multiple-organ failure.

NPR also details how the added stress on the heart can trigger a heart attack or stroke, and it notes that older adults and people with underlying heart conditions may be at higher risk.

NPR’s comic further warns that kidney failure can become fatal when sweating leads to water loss and dehydration, and it states that “you sweat, you lose water — up to 1.5 liters in an hour.”

Climate Central says the combination of extreme heat and humidity is dangerous and becoming more common, and it defines dangerous humid heat as daily maximum wet-bulb temperatures of 25°C (77°F) or higher.

Climate Central adds that humid heat can compromise the body’s main cooling mechanism—sweating—and lead to serious and even fatal heat-related illnesses, with older adults and those without access to cooling facing particular risk.

Climate Central

The Climate Central tool description says it “calculates the influence of climate change on dangerous humid heat every day, around the globe,” and it frames the health implications through the Climate Shift Index: Humid Heat.

Climate Central also reports that in the U.S, the South and Southeast regions face the highest burden of dangerous humid heat, and it says some areas of the Gulf Coast currently experience more than 100 such days annually, on average.

Climate Central’s overview links worsening conditions to warming that increases humidity, stating “For every 1°F of warming, the air can hold 4% more moisture,” and it says the planet has already warmed 2.1°F (1.2°C) above pre-industrial levels.

Chatham-Kent Public Health says heat is more than an inconvenience and can quickly become dangerous, and it emphasizes that the health risks linked to extreme heat are often overlooked.

“Of all extreme weather conditions, heat is the deadliest”

Georgia Public Broadcasting

In a Chatham-Kent Public Health media release, medical officer of health Shanker Nesathurai says, “The health risks linked to extreme heat are often overlooked,” and he urges residents to include heat preparedness in regular summer planning.

The release also highlights that extreme heat can impact those working outdoors and people taking part in outdoor recreational activities, and it says it can be especially difficult for people with chronic health conditions who live in homes without air conditioning and for those who live alone and have limited social support networks.

The union Herencia.net describes a proposal for climate-controlled spaces for workers vulnerable to extreme heat, calling for access to drinking water and adequate restrooms, and it anchors the urgency with the statistic that “4 out of 10 workers are exposed to thermal stress during their workday.”

Herencia.net further states that in 2025, 264 deaths in the region were attributed to high temperatures, and it frames the stakes as preventing “potential future tragedies related to extreme heat” through coordinated government action.