My name is Emma and I come from Geneva. In my city, during the summer, temperatures usually range between 18°C and 28°C.
 Here in Madrid, the temperatures on the thermometers rise even higher!

Before coming here, I worked alongside doctors, scientists and people from my city to understand how heatwaves affect our health, especially when combined with humidity and traffic pollution.

Heatwaves are prolonged periods of excessive heat that occur when hot air becomes trapped in the atmosphere. In my city, and here too, summers are becoming increasingly intense and we may be at risk of heat exhaustion.

Heat exhaustion happens when our body reacts to a significant loss of water and salt, normally caused by excessive sweating, as can happen on an extremely hot day.

Heat exhaustion can affect vulnerable groups even more, such as older people and children.