Heat is Australia’s deadliest climate threat, emergency room doctor warns

During the Black Summer of 2019-20, Emergency Department doctor Dr Lai Heng Foong was met by patients who were struggling to breathe. 

“They come in, they can't breathe. It's pretty visceral when you see someone who can't breathe,” she tells the Lorikeet.

The woeful air quality caused by plumes of smoke led to “a lot more” people with asthma and other respiratory illnesses seeking hospital care.

As Australia braces for temperatures of 40C and higher in coming days, Foong believes that the effect of heat on our community — from dehydration and fainting to breathing difficulties and chest pain — will only increase as the impact of climate is more keenly felt.

Foong believes the number of deaths where heat has played a role have been underestimated due to heat-related deaths often being attributed to organ failure, stroke or cardiac arrest, and the fact many deaths occur in people’s homes and/or in conjunction with pre-existing conditions

“When people die, you fill in a death certificate, right? It's very uncommon for people to put heatstroke or heat exhaustion as part of the death certification.”

36,000 deaths: Research from the Australian Council of Social Service estimates that between 2006 and 2017, 36,000 deaths in Australia were related to heat.

As an Emergency Department doctor, Foong sees the health impacts of heatwaves first hand. She tells the Lorikeet the most common symptoms people present with are fainting, shortness of breath and chest pain. Those presenting are most often elderly people, who are  particularly vulnerable to hot weather.

While attracting more attention in recent years, Foong believes “there is a lack of recognition of how bad extreme heat can be to your body and health”.

What can we do: Foong says the impact of heat can be lessened by ensuring Australians are educated on how to stay safe when the mercury rises, and by providing cool, safe spaces — libraries, community centres, churches — so people can find respite.