The year is 2050 and your morning is not off to a good start.
School is closed for yet another heat day, meaning the kids need to stay home and the AC needs to stay on.
Your usual babysitter can't come help because the rails for their commuter train were warped by the heat.
And to make matters worse, your dog is desperate for a walk, but the pavement is hot enough to give third degree burns to any paw or person that touches it.
In many parts of the world, this sweltering future is already here.
On average, heat waves are happening more often with greater intensity and for longer durations.
But according to a 2022 projection, by 2050, Earth's mid-latitudes could be experiencing extreme heat between 90 and 180 days a year, with tropical regions enduring even more.
So, how hot is too hot, and what can people do to handle the heat?
While human bodies are decent at managing temperature, our cooling mechanisms only work under the right conditions.
When air temperatures climb, the hypothalamus tells blood vessels near the skin to widen, allowing more blood to flow near the body's surface and release heat.
