Between Extremes: Health Effects of Heat and Cold

Climate change is expected to have profound effects on weather patterns and temperatures worldwide in the coming decades, with serious implications for public health.1 Among the many ways in which global warming bears on human health,2,3,4,5,6 few are more readily apparent than the trend of increasing heat waves, which are often regarded as the deadliest of all natural disasters.7,8 And despite current and future adaptation efforts,9,10 the overall health burden of heat waves could grow as average temperatures continue their upward tick and extreme heat events become more frequent, severe, and long-lasting.11