Six babies have died from hypothermia in the Gaza Strip in just one week.
As Israel continues its attacks on Gaza and hospitals, restrictions on what can enter the Palestinian territories also limit access to winter relief and medical interventions. Israel’s war on Gaza has killed more than 45,500 people, most of them children and women.
Here’s what you need to know about the disease that has killed several infants and threatened 2.3 million people. Most of them have been driven from their homes and are surviving in the bitter cold with inadequate food and water.
What is hypothermia?
Hypothermia literally means below normal body temperature and is a condition that occurs when the body loses heat faster than it can produce it.
The body typically maintains a fixed, warm core temperature of about 37 degrees Celsius (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) using a variety of mechanisms, such as metabolic heat production, including food digestion or muscle movement.
Core body temperature should be maintained within a narrow range of 36.1 C (97 F) to 37.2 C (99 F), depending on the individual, time of day, and activity level. This allows vital organs such as the brain and heart to continue to function properly.
However, when the body can no longer compensate for heat loss and the internal temperature drops dangerously, the body enters a state of hypothermia.
At what temperature does hypothermia occur?
Hypothermia depends on the body’s core temperature rather than the outside temperature, and can occur in mildly cold weather as well as below-freezing weather.
Even in temperatures above 40F (4C), hypothermia can occur if you become cold due to rain, wind, or immersion in cold water.
Medically, hypothermia begins when the body’s core temperature falls below 35C (95F), about 2 degrees cooler than average.
The severity of the condition depends on how much the internal temperature drops.
- mild hypothermia: 32~35C(89.6~95F)
- moderate hypothermia: 28~32C (82.4~89.6F)
- severe hypothermia: Below 28C (82.4F)
What are the signs and symptoms?
What happens to your body depends on the severity and stage of hypothermia.
During initial cold exposure, the body begins to lose heat through the skin. Wind or water accelerates this process by removing the thin layer of warmth around the body.
To conserve heat, blood vessels in the skin constrict, reducing blood flow to the surface. This will keep more heat near your vital organs, but will leave your fingers, toes, and other extremities feeling cold and numb.
To generate more heat, your body begins to shiver and your breathing and heart rate increase to pump warm blood to your vital organs and support your metabolism.
However, as the cold begins to affect the brain and muscles, mild confusion, clumsiness, and fatigue may begin.
With continued exposure to cold, heat loss exceeds the body’s internal attempts to generate heat, and moderate hypothermia sets in. When the muscles are depleted of energy, the tremors stop and a feedback loop makes the situation worse. When your metabolism slows down, your body produces less heat.
As the body attempts to conserve energy, heart rate, breathing, and metabolic processes slow further. As this vicious cycle continues, the gap between heat lost and heat generated increases.
Eventually, the internal temperature decreases significantly.
Brain function deteriorates, leading to loss of consciousness. The cold can disrupt the heart’s electrical system, causing the heart to beat irregularly, leading to a heart attack.
Without prompt medical intervention, complete loss of essential functions can lead to death.
Can hypothermia be stopped?
Yes, hypothermia can be stopped if you take timely action.
Recovery from moderate to mild hypothermia involves moving the person to a warm, dry environment, removing wet clothing, and covering the person with blankets to keep the body warm.
If conscious, warm non-alcoholic beverages may be helpful.
However, severe hypothermia often requires medical intervention. These include passive rewarming methods using heated blankets or active rewarming techniques such as administration of warm intravenous fluids or blood rewarming.
Rewarming blood typically involves drawing blood from the body through a large catheter, warming it with a special machine, and then reinfusing it into the body.
Is my baby at higher risk of hypothermia?
Infants are at higher risk because their bodies lose heat more quickly than adults.
The reason is that the body shape is different. Compared to adults, they have more skin (surface area) relative to their size (body mass). This means you lose heat more quickly through your skin, especially in cold environments. Their small bodies cannot produce heat as efficiently as adults, so they are at higher risk of becoming too cold.
They also do not show obvious signs of cold stress, which can make hypothermia more difficult to recognize.
Severe malnutrition also increases the risk of hypothermia. Since the war began on October 7, 2023, the entry of food and medicine into the Gaza Strip has been restricted, and the Gaza Strip has been experiencing a famine-like situation for a year.
What is the current temperature in Gaza?
Temperatures in the last week of December 2024 were approximately 19C to 20C (66F to 68F) with nighttime lows of 11C to 12C (52F to 54F).
But the current winter in Gaza is harsh for people living in tents or without adequate shelter, with heavy rain and strong winds destroying temporary cover, soaked clothing and blankets.
With limited access to fuel, electricity or gas heaters due to strict restrictions imposed by Israel, many residents rely on chopping down trees for firewood to stay warm and cook.
How cold and snowy does it get in Gaza?
In winter, especially in January, average low temperatures can drop to around 9C (45F), with daytime highs closer to 18C (65F).
Winters in the area are not extremely harsh, but heavy rain and the coastal location can make them feel cooler. December and January are also the wettest months in Gaza.
Although it does not generally snow in Gaza, rare instances of snow have been reported in the past, such as in December 2013.
