In the present case, heatwaves kill tens of thousands of people. In France alone, more than 14,800 people died of heat stroke in 2003. In the US heatwaves claim more lives each year. The victims of heatwaves are usually the most vulnerable: the sick, the elderly and the very young. As heatwaves become more severe, the proportion of the population dying will rise. Even healthy adults acclimatised to heat will succumb if it stays too hot and too humid for too long. In order for a human body to function normally, the core body temperature has to be maintained around 37 °C. If it rises above about 42 °C, thats our end.

With global warming of 7 °C, the heat and humidity would start to become intolerable in many places. In the near future, we can see migrations out of hot and humid countries where people can’t survive the heatwaves. If the global average temperature rises by 12 °C, half of the land inhabited today would become too hot to live in. The uninhabitable regions are likely be those with the highest heat stress today, including the Amazon basin, India, parts of Africa, China, Australia and the south-eastern US. In theory, people in affected regions could adapt, living in underground shelters during the summer months, for instance, or not leaving air-conditioned houses or cars for long without cooling suits. But this isn’t pratical. On the other hand,  the cost of running air conditioning constantly could be unaffordable for many individuals and businesses. Most livestock, for instance, would perish unless kept in air-conditioned barns at times. Even worse, a prolonged power cut could cause mass fatalities. A pratical solution then is for them to move to cooler climes, but this leads to conflict over land and resources.

If we reach such a situation in time, its amost the point of no return.

The first I knew about these pictures came from an email sent by a friend. There is a series of pictures of the baby as it first approaches the tub of water and eventually it realises that getting into the tub will help him cool down even faster:

The photograph supplied in this story has been taken by Ms Young of Maude, from somewhere between Melbourne and Geelong. The series of pictures can be found here, as supplied to  News.com.au

Other delightful pictures of koalas being helped during the heat can be found as well. There are two that are quite outstanding:

- the koala drinking from a dog bowl;

- the koala leaning over the edge of a swimming pool and attempting to drink the water.

Other images, taken by amateur photographers, and without copyright have also surfaced, these images include a baby koala burying its head in a lawn sprinkler. These creatures remain hot and thirst during the heat wave – in these conditions the humans are also not faring well with more than 40 deaths being attributed to the conditions.

These images tell the story of the extreme heat that Australians are enduring at the present time. In South Australia where these pictures have surfaced the temperatures experienced are the hottest for the past 100 years. I am not sure about the Victorian stats, but I do know that 50 years ago there were identical temperatures.

These pictures tell me that these animals are so very dependent upon human beings, and that in this kind of weather, when their source of water (eucalyptus leaves) have withered because of the extreme heat, they need our help, and so they have come, looking for the water, trying to cool down. The pictures also show animals that are very trusting. They truly do tell a story of the trust that is shown between animals and mankind.