The Climate Question3 Jul 2024

How are athletes adapting to extreme heat?

The Paris Olympics are less than a month away. The last games in Tokyo were one of the hottest on record, with more than a hundred athletes suffering heat-related illnesses. And France, the host of this year’s Olympics, is no stranger to heatwaves – the country has seen 23 since 2010.

So how are top athletes training their bodies to not only perform at their best in high temperatures, but also to protect their health? Presenter Qasa Alom heads inside a sweltering, state of the art heat chamber at Leeds Beckett University to find out how one of the fastest marathon runners in Britain, Phil Sesemann, is maximising his chances of success in his Olympic debut.

Other athletes are more used to these conditions. We join India’s top triathlete, Pragnya Mohan, for a training run and hear what it’s like to compete when the thermometer climbs above 45 degrees Celsius.

More and more athletes are adopting heat training strategies in a warming world - but do they affect men and women the same? Dr Jessica Mee, Research Fellow at the University of Worcester tells us about her pioneering research into the impacts of heat on women’s bodies.

Featuring: Phil Sesemann, Team GB Olympic marathon runner Pragnya Mohan, Indian National Champion and South Asian Champion triathlete Dr Jessica Mee, Research Fellow in female health and heat strain at the University of Worcester Dan Snapes, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Sports and Excercise Physiology at Leeds Beckett University

Email us at: theclimatequestion@bbc.com

Presenter: Qasa Alom Producer: Sophie Eastaugh Editor: Simon Watts Sound Engineer: Tom Brignell Production Coordinator: Brenda Brown

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(316)

Climate Overshoot: The World Beyond 1.5°C

The United Nations says the world will pass its most important climate target within a few years. So can we bring the planet's temperature back down quickly? Or will the damage be irreversible?In 2015...

27 Sep 28min

The solar power boom in Pakistan and the Philippines

The Philippines and Pakistan are now the world's top solar panel importers. We find out why, and what other countries can learn from the boom!Cheap solar panels, mainly imported from China, are transf...

20 Sep 22min

Can China build its way out of climate change?

Huge construction projects are transforming China - think enormous dams, giant solar power farms and a vast high-speed rail network. Will Beijing's "engineering mindset" help it deal with climate chan...

13 Sep 27min

How will melting glaciers change Nepal?

As shown by the recent flash floods, Nepali mountain communities are on the front line of climate change. Can they adapt?Host Jordan Dunbar talks to two Sherpas who have become climate researchers. Th...

6 Sep 26min

Can we cope with droughts?

Europe is reeling from a record-breaking drought which has closed nuclear power stations, stopped river traffic and sent food prices soaring. And there may now be more intense droughts in some parts o...

30 Aug 26min

How do we save Africa's forests?

African forests are vital for food and economic development, as well as for supporting millions of species of animals and plants. We find out how to protect them better with one of Africa’s top enviro...

23 Aug 22min

Is air conditioning the answer to extreme heat?

Experts say we may now need to spend more on cooling our homes than heating them because of climate change. In fact, the International Energy Agency thinks the equivalent of 10 new air conditioners ev...

16 Aug 26min

Is this a new era of wildfires?

Huge wildfires have been sweeping across Southern Europe and North America. Is climate change increasing the risk? And what can we do? Weather experts say the world is starting to see new types of wil...

9 Aug 22min