Women more at risk from heatwaves than men, experts suggest

(Nicola Davis/ The Guardian) — Females may be more vulnerable to extreme high temperatures such as the heatwave gripping the UK than males, experts have suggested.

The heatwave plan for England states that those at high risk include the over-75s, babies, young children, people with severe physical or mental illness and females.

The document does not explain why females are on the list, but the UK Health Security Agency pointed to a study in the Netherlands that looked at mortality after various heatwaves and found elderly women are at higher risk than men. The researchers said the results were not simply down to age. (…)