Scientists: Climate Change Will Get So Hot Your Organs Shut Down

And the UN says your air conditioner will only make things worse.

Organ Failure

In the coming years, climate change will heat some parts of the world so much that merely working outdoors could become life-threatening.

New models suggest that unless greenhouse gases are reined in, millions of people — especially in developing nations — will be exposed to dangerous levels of heat that could cause heat stress, a dangerous condition that can cause your organs to shut down, BBC News reports. And with workplace fans shut off and heavier protective garments due to the pandemic, even more people are likely to be affected.

Space Heater

Unfortunately, switching on your air conditioner to get some relief — already not an option in many developing nations — is only going to make things worse, according to an unrelated U.N. report published Friday.

"If we deal with cooling wrong, we essentially cook ourselves," Gabrielle Dreyfus, manager of the cool efficiency program at the Institute for Governance and Sustainable Development, said on a press call attended by Earther.

Warning Signs

Warning signs for this dire future can already be seen in medics who have to treat patients in tropical climates wearing heavy protective gear, Dr. Jimmy Lee, an emergency medic treating COVID-19 patients in Singapore, told BBC. Soon, the dangerous heats those medics face could become an everyday experience for everyone else, too.

"This climate change will be a bigger monster and we really need a coordinated effort across nations to prepare for what is to come," Lee told BBC. "If not, there'll be a price to be paid."

READ MORE: Climate change: Summers could become 'too hot for humans' [BBC News]

More on climate change: Doomsday Report Author: Earth's Leaders Have Failed