Overwhelmed. Irritable. Dizzy. Bloated. Exhausted. These are the words women are using to describe how they feel as the UK braces for more hot weather, barely recovered from record-breaking heat in June. But extreme heat is not an equal-opportunity threat. Heatwaves act as a “stress-test” for women’s cardiovascular systems, hitting them harder than men, according to Dr Nighat Arif, an NHS GP specialising in women’s health. Dr Cat Pinho-Gomes, an academic public health consultant at UCL’s Institute for Global Health, added that women may be marginally more vulnerable to heatwave-related death than men, though she stressed more evidence is needed. As climate change drives increasingly intense and frequent heatwaves to the UK, experts are calling for better awareness of the risks to women and more targeted efforts to protect them.
The biological roots of this vulnerability are twofold, Dr Arif explained. First, women produce less sweat and begin sweating at a higher temperature – a finding confirmed by a 2025 study. This impairs the body’s ability to shed excess heat quickly and makes it harder to judge when the body is under strain. Women also have a higher core body temperature and a higher body fat percentage, which acts like an extra insulating layer. Second, the natural fluctuations of hormones – oestrogen and progesterone – during the menstrual cycle, perimenopause, menopause, pregnancy and breastfeeding put the brain’s temperature regulation systems “out of kilter”, Dr Arif told the BBC. All of this places extra strain on the cardiovascular system, especially in hot weather.
“Heatwaves hit women harder due to biology and socioeconomics, experts warn, as climate change intensifies UK heat.”
But biology is only part of the story. Dr Pinho-Gomes, co-author of a review into sex differences in heatwave-associated deaths, pointed to socioeconomic factors. Women are often lower paid and more likely to be primary caregivers, which can affect how well they can look after themselves during a heatwave. Age compounds the risk: the older you are, the more vulnerable to heat, and since women live longer on average than men, they face greater exposure. Elderly women are also more susceptible to dementia, which can limit the ability to recognise thirst, or to conditions requiring diuretics – both of which can increase heat stress.
The warning comes as the UK faces a future of more intense and frequent heatwaves. The message from doctors is clear: the heatwave risk is not gender-neutral, and without targeted action, women will continue to bear the brunt.