EN 
SK 
WHO/Europe allows experts from Cervello Hospital in Palermo, Italy, to talk about their experiences in the emergency room during the July heatwave in Sicily. The two doctors compare the emergency caused by the extreme heat to the conditions when COVID-19 first hit the region, and highlight the urgent need to prepare society, and especially health workers, for the threats posed by climate change. Suggested measures to prepare for the impacts of heat include:
- early health information and advice campaigns to warn people about the dangers of heat;
- changes in the provision of health services to protect older people;
- telehealth to reduce the need for doctor and pharmacy visits during hot summer weather;
- regular home visits by health professionals to older people to prevent heat-related conditions from becoming life-threatening;
- meteorological early warning systems;
- integrated and systematized preventive measures in the Heat and Health Action Plan (HHAP).
