Here's a new fact about spring, summer, fall, and sometimes even winter, now that climate change has blurred seasonal boundaries: sizzling heat may be on the way, or currently blanketing your community.

High temperatures stress the body, leading to thousands of heat-related illnesses and deaths every year in the US. Creating a personal heat plan can help you stay safe when the heat index soars.

Caleb Dresser, MD, is the health care solutions lead for C-CHANGE, the Harvard Chan Center for Climate Health and the Global Environment, and an emergency medicine doctor at Harvard-affiliated Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. Below we interview him about who, how, and why heat harms. Then we'll help you create your personal heat safety plan.