TheConversation: Most people are acutely aware of the toll the heat can take
on human life, particularly since the extreme heat of Black Saturday in
2009 and the European heatwave of 2003. So it may come as a surprise
that more Australians die from the cold than the heat. A new study published in The Lancet
shows 6.5% of deaths in this country are attributed to cold weather,
compared with 0.5% from hot weather. Most deaths will be from
cardiovascular and respiratory disease, as it’s the heart and lungs that
struggle when we are outside our comfort zone.
