Professor Ollie Jay highlights the growing impact of climate change on human health – our next global “emergency” and explores the solutions for climactic extremes, specifically extreme heat. Climate change is causing more frequent and intense natural disasters. We are experiencing prolonged droughts, cyclones, floods, bushfires and extreme heat events which have significantly increased deaths, injuries, infectious diseases and mental illness in Australia and in South Asia. The most vulnerable in our populations – the elderly, poor, and people with co-morbidities such as cardiovascular disease – are most likely to suffer from extreme heat. Given the undeniable increase in frequency, intensity, and duration of heatwaves in Australia and south Asian countries, identifying simple, cost-effective and sustainable ways of cooling has never been more important.