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🔥 HEAT WAVE CAROUSEL — 10 Slides

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SLIDE 1 — Cover / Hook

"The heat doesn't warn you twice." Everything you need to survive a heat wave — backed by science. Swipe to stay safe →

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SLIDE 2 — The Numbers Are Alarming

🌡️ Heat Kills More Than You Think

• ~489,000 heat-related deaths occur globally every year (WHO, 2023)
• In Europe's 2022 summer alone: 61,672 excess deaths
• The deadly 2003 European heat wave killed 70,000 people in weeks
• Heat waves are now longer, more frequent, and more intense than ever
• Night-time temperatures no longer cooling = body never recovers

📌 Heat is the #1 weather-related killer worldwide

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SLIDE 3 — Know Your Enemy: 3 Levels of Heat Illness

⚠️ Heat Cramps → Heat Exhaustion → Heat Stroke

Heat stroke = medical emergency. Every minute counts. (Source: ACSM Consensus Statement, 2023 — PMID 37036463)

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SLIDE 4 — The 8 High-Risk Groups

🚨 Who's Most Vulnerable?

1. 👴 Adults 65+ — reduced sweating ability, more medications
2. 👶 Infants & young children — can't regulate temperature
3. 🤰 Pregnant women — risk of preterm labor
4. 💊 People on certain medications — diuretics, antipsychotics, ACE inhibitors, anticholinergics (3× higher hospitalization risk)
5. ❤️ Chronic conditions — heart, kidney, respiratory, diabetes
6. 🧠 Mental health conditions — dementia, bipolar, ADHD, substance use disorders
7. 🏚️ No A/C access — low-income, outdoor workers, homeless
8. 🏋️ Outdoor/manual workers — prolonged exertion in the heat

Medications that raise risk: diuretics + ACE inhibitors together = ~3× hospitalization risk (Kalisch Ellett et al., 2016)

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SLIDE 5 — Hydration: The #1 Defense

💧 Drink Before You're Thirsty

• By the time you feel thirst → you're already dehydrated
• Minimum: 1 cup (250 ml) of water every hour in heat
• Daily target: 2–3 litres on a hot day (WHO)
• ✅ Add electrolytes if sweating heavily (sodium, potassium)
• ❌ Avoid alcohol, caffeinated drinks, sugary sodas — all accelerate dehydration
• ❌ Avoid very cold drinks quickly — they can cause stomach cramps

🧠 Dark urine = dehydrated. Pale/clear = hydrated. Check every time.

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SLIDE 6 — Cool Down Fast: Proven Strategies

🧊 What Actually Works (Ranked by Effectiveness)

1. Cold water immersion — most effective for heat stroke (core cooling fastest)
2. Ice packs to neck, armpits, and groin — major blood vessel areas
3. Cool shower or bath
4. Wet cloth or spray on skin + fan — evaporation cools quickly
5. Air-conditioned spaces — even 2 hours/day reduces heat stress significantly
6. Light, loose, light-coloured clothing
7. Close blinds during the day — reduces indoor temp by up to 5°C

(Jay et al., The Lancet, 2021 — personal cooling strategies evidence review)

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SLIDE 7 — The Danger Hours

🕐 Time Your Day Around the Heat

6 AM – 10 AM  ✅ Best for exercise / outdoor work
10 AM – 4 PM  🚫 High risk — stay indoors
4 PM – 7 PM   ⚠️ Still hot — limit exertion
After 7 PM    ✅ Safer, but hot nights = body never fully recovers

• Hot nights are increasingly dangerous — body needs overnight cooling to reset
• Sleep in the coolest room; a damp sheet can drop perceived temperature

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SLIDE 8 — Your Heat Wave Checklist

✅ Do This Before the Heat Hits

• Check A/C or fan is working
• Stock water + electrolyte drinks
• Identify your nearest cooling center (library, mall, community hall)
• Close curtains/blinds on south/west-facing windows

• Pre-hydrate the day before
• Prepare light, loose, breathable clothing
• Know your medications — ask your pharmacist if they increase heat risk
• Download your local heat alert notification app

• Check in on elderly neighbours and relatives
• Never leave children or pets in cars (car temp rises 20°F in 10 min)
• Know where the nearest ER is

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SLIDE 9 — Heat Stroke First Aid — Save a Life

🚑 ACT F-A-S-T

1. CALL 911 immediately
2. Move to shade/cool area
3. Remove excess clothing
4. Cool aggressively — ice packs to neck, armpits, groin; cool water on skin
5. Do NOT give water if unconscious or confused (aspiration risk)
6. Monitor until emergency services arrive — do not leave them alone

⏱️ Core temperature must come down within 30 minutes — delay increases fatality and brain damage risk (ACSM, 2023)

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SLIDE 10 — Close / CTA

🌍 Heat Is a Health Emergency — and It's Getting Worse

• Climate change = heat waves are now year-round, not just summer
• The most dangerous heat events are often the ones people aren't prepared for
• Share this carousel — you might save someone's life

"Heat is predictable. Deaths from it are largely preventable." — WHO

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📐 Design Notes for Each Slide

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Sources Behind This Content

• WHO — Heat and Health Fact Sheet (updated 2023–2025)
• ACSM Consensus Statement — Exertional Heat Illness 2023 (PMID: 37036463)
• The Lancet — Jay et al., personal cooling strategies (2021)
• Medical Societies for Climate Health — Preparing Vulnerable Populations 2024
• Arizona DHS — Heat preparedness strategies 2025
• Kalisch Ellett et al. — Medication-related heat hospitalization risk (J Clin Pharm Ther, 2016)