Extreme Heat

CURRENT NEWS

The New Yorker

A Hotter Planet Takes Another Toll on Human Health

By Bill McKibben 01/19/23

Shortly after the New Year, the Washington Post ran a story with a headline that would have seemed inexplicable, even runic, to most readers just a few years ago: “The world’s torrid future is etched…

The New York Times

The last 8 years were the hottest on record

By Henry Fountain and Mira Rojanasakul 01/10/23

The world remained firmly in warming’s grip last year, with extreme summer temperatures in Europe, China and elsewhere contributing to 2022 being the fifth-hottest year on record, European climate researchers said on Tuesday.

EPA

Climate Change Indicators: Heat-Related Deaths

11/15/22

This figure shows the annual rates for deaths classified as “heat-related” by medical professionals in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The orange line shows deaths for which heat was listed as the…

Wired

Thawing Permafrost Exposes Old Pathogens—and New Hosts

By Grace Browne 10/27/22

The Arctic—that Remote, largely undisturbed, 5.5 million square miles of frozen terrain—is heating up fast. In fact, it’s warming nearly four times quicker than the rest of the world, with disastrous consequences for the region…

Yale Climate Connections

Battling heat waves: The silent killer

By James Arnott and Others 10/18/22

Millions of TV viewers watched minute-by-minute coverage of Hurricane Ian blasting its path of destruction in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina. But while hurricanes are scary and deadly, extreme heat is a stealthy killer that…

The Guardian

Phoenix could see deadliest year for heat deaths after sweltering summer

By Nina Lakhani 10/08/22

Extreme heat contributed to as many as 450 Deaths in Phoenix.....

CNN

As heat wave grips the West, millions in California are urged to set thermostats to 78 degrees to conserve electricity today

By Aya Elamroussi 09/01/22

An intense heat wave will blanket much of the West this week, prompting officials in California to urge residents to slash their energy consumption for the second day in a row to avoid straining the…

The Guardian

Brutal heatwave scorches US west, sparking fires and health warnings

By Maanvi Singh and Others 08/31/22

A record-breaking heatwave has scorched the US west, the latest in a string of extreme temperature events putting communities on high alert for heat-related illness and death as temperatures are expected to spike higher through…

Axios

An “Extreme Heat Belt” will soon emerge in the U.S., study warns

By Andrew Freedman 08/15/22

A new study reveals the emergence of an "extreme heat belt" from Texas to Illinois, where the heat index could reach 125°F at least one day a year by 2053.

The Hill

Hotter nights could lead to a 60 percent rise in global mortality: study

By Gianna Melillo 08/10/22

As the United States continues to trudge through a sweltering summer and with a warm fall on the way, new research underscores the potentially deadly ramifications of rising heat at night. Published in The Lancet…

The Washington Post

As temperatures rise, industries fight heat safeguards for workers

By Anna Phillips 08/09/22

In the nearly two decades she has worked in South Florida’s plant nurseries, baking under greenhouse plastic covers, Sandra Ascencio has seen more than her share of misery. Ascencio remembers seeing the body of a…

The Chicago Tribune

Climate change is turning air conditioning into a matter of life and death. But government help is lacking.

By Sarah Macaraeg 08/07/22

If it were up to Jacques Wallace, no Chicagoan would find a loved one dead of heat stress, without air conditioning, ever again. Wallace still remembers how hot it was a decade ago when he…

KEY RESOURCES

Global risk of deadly heat

10/01/20

Climate change can increase the risk of conditions that exceed human thermoregulatory capacity.

Nature Conservancy

Planting healthy air: Trees, particulate matter pollution and extreme heat

10/31/16

This study from the Nature Conservancy reviews the positive cooling effects of urban trees planting on hot city climates and the quality of their air.

MORE NEWS

Time

Why Extreme Heat Is So Bad for the Human Body

By Tara Law 08/02/22

Blistering temperatures aren’t just uncomfortable. They can quickly escalate to become life-threatening: According to data from U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention researchers, more than 700 people nationwide died from heat-related causes annually from…

Ted Talks

A 3-part plan to take on extreme heat waves

By Elini Myrivili 07/25/22

The deadliest severe weather phenomenon is something you might not realize: extreme heat. Eleni Myrivili, chief heat officer of the city of Athens, Greece, explains that extreme heat and heat waves are often overlooked because…

The Washington Post

Brutal heat from Phoenix to Boston triggers alerts for 100 million

By Matthew Cappucci and Jason Samenow 07/22/22

More than 100 million people in the Lower 48 states are under heat alerts on Thursday amid relentlessly sweltering temperatures that have soared as high as 115 degrees in recent days.

Time

The Increasing Death Toll in the U.S. From Extreme Heat

By Sameed Khatana 07/20/22

Last summer, in the Pacific Northwest, record temperatures melted power cables and buckled roads. Seattle reached a record high of 108 degrees and millions of area residents struggled under the weight of unprecedented heat. Just…

The Washington Post

Blistering heat bakes the Plains with highs up to 115 degrees

By Matthew Cappucci 07/19/22

As historic temperatures bake Europe, with readings as high as 115 degrees in Portugal, it’s been just as scorchingly hot stateside. Sixty million Americans could experience triple-digit temperatures over the next several days, with the…

The Washington Post

Heat waves are getting hotter and more frequent. Here’s how to prepare.

By Allyson Chiu 07/19/22

Amid a historically hot summer, swaths of the United States and Europe are baking. Already scorching temperatures are continuing to climb in some areas, prompting widespread public safety concerns about the extreme heat, which, experts…

Media Matters

National TV networks mention climate change in 32% of segments on global extreme heat

By Ted Macdonald 07/19/22

Punishing extreme heat is affecting countries all across the globe this week. Extreme “red” heat warnings were issued in the United Kingdom for the first time, and Wales recorded its highest-ever temperature. At least 1,100…

C2ES

Heat Waves and Climate Change

07/18/22

Across the globe, hot days are getting hotter and more frequent, while we’re experiencing fewer cold days. Over the past decade, daily record high temperatures have occurred twice as often as record lows across the…

The Washington Post

These maps show how excessively hot it is in Europe and the U.S.

By Matthew Cappucci 07/18/22

A historic and deadly heat wave has been scorching western Europe, killing hundreds in Spain and Portugal. Temperatures spiked to 115 degrees on the Iberian Peninsula amid bone-dry conditions, fueling wildfires and displacing thousands of…

Reuters

Explainer: The health risks of extreme heat

By Jennifer Rigby 07/18/22

The more serious version is heatstroke, when the body's core temperature goes above 40.6 degrees Celsius (105 degrees Fahrenheit). It is a medical emergency and can lead to long-term organ damage and death. Symptoms include…

nexus

Extreme Heat, Driven By Climate Change, Threatens Postal Workers

07/16/22

Extreme heat, driven by climate change, is setting records across the globe. Combinations of high heat and humidity in the American South and Southwest continued this week and was expected to move north and east…

The New York Times

70 million Americans are under heat warnings or advisories.

By Isabella Grullon Paz 07/06/22

Temperatures across the middle of the United States were called “oppressive” by the National Weather Service on Thursday, as cities throughout the region dealt with a spike in heat-related health emergencies and tried to offer…

Scientific American

What Is a Heat Dome?

By William Gallus 07/06/22

A heat dome occurs when a persistent region of high pressure traps heat over an area. The heat dome can stretch over several states and linger for days to weeks, leaving the people, crops and…

nexus

Unhoused People Especially Vulnerable To Heat

06/22/22

Unhoused people in Phoenix are struggling to survive extreme heat as climate change pushes temperatures higher and police harassment makes it harder to find a place to sleep, the AP reports. Heat contributes to about…

NIH

Extreme heat in the U.S. linked to an increased number of deaths

06/21/22

After reviewing data from millions of adults between May-September of 2008-2017, researchers found that each additional day of extreme summer heat was linked to an additional .07 death for every 100,000 adults. In other words,…

Time

What Extreme Heat Does to the Human Body

By Aryn Baker 06/13/22

For the third weekend in a row, large swaths of the United States have wilted under early-season heatwaves that have set high temperature records from California to Texas. Nearly 100 million Americans are facing heat…

Axios

April sets record for highest CO2 levels in human history

By Andrew Freedman 05/05/22

Levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached the highest levels on record for any calendar month during April, averaging 420 parts per million (ppm) for the first time since observations began in 1958, according…

Grist

Record heat in India and Pakistan is a wake-up call

By Julia Kane 05/04/22

A record-shattering heat wave is devastating parts of India and Pakistan, putting more than a billion people at risk and unleashing a surge of related problems. For decades, experts have warned that climate change would…

The Guardian

The world’s forests do more than just store carbon, new research finds

By Nina Lakhani 03/24/22

The world’s forests play a far greater and more complex role in tackling climate crisis than previously thought, due to their physical effects on global and local temperatures, according to new research...

The New York Times

Effort to Reframe Climate Change as a Health Crisis Gains Steam

By Winston Choi- Schagrin 11/04/21

For the first time at a major United Nations climate conference, human health is emerging as a leading issue, a reframing that brings climate change’s far-reaching and long-lasting effects to the forefront.

The New York Times

More Than a Third of Heat Deaths Are Tied to Climate Change, Study Says

By John Schwartz 11/04/21

More than a third of heat-related deaths in many parts of the world can be attributed to the extra warming associated with climate change, according to a new study that makes a case for taking…

Consumer Healthday

Brazil study shows climate change’s deadly impact on kidneys

By Robert Preidt 11/01/21

For the study, researchers analyzed data from hospitals in more than 1,800 cities in Brazil between 2000 and 2015, and found that just over 7% of all admissions for kidney disease could be attributed to…

Healio

PCPs face mounting responsibility to address health effects of climate change

By Maria Marabito 10/29/21

Human influence has had an unequivocal impact on Earth’s climate, causing significant changes that threaten people’s security and physical and mental health, according to a landmark report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The Guardian

Global heating ‘may lead to epidemic of kidney disease’

By Natalie Grover 10/21/21

Chronic kidney disease linked to heat stress could become a major health epidemic for millions of workers around the world as global temperatures increase over the coming decades, doctors have warned.

The Harvard Gazette

Viewing climate change as a human health problem

By Alvin Powell 10/21/21

The medical journal The Lancet released its annual “Report of the Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change” and a companion brief focused on conditions in the United States. The brief urges action to curb…

The Washington Post

Inaction on climate change imperils millions of lives, doctors say

By Sarah Kaplan 10/20/21

Climate change is set to become the “defining narrative of human health,” a top medical journal warned Wednesday — triggering food shortages, deadly disasters and disease outbreaks that would dwarf the toll of the coronavirus.…

Scientific American

Risk of Dangerous Heat Exposure Is Growing Quickly in Cities

By Andrea Thompson 10/14/21

Cities are famously sweltering places during heat waves, with pavement and buildings radiating heat back into the air and elevating temperatures compared to nearby rural areas. Add in global warming and an increasingly urban population,…

usnews.com

Climate Change Could Bring Rising Obesity Rates

By Robert Preidt 10/14/21

You can add obesity and its related health risks to the long list of threats posed by climate change, researchers report.

Los Angeles Times

The L.A. Times investigation into extreme heat’s deadly toll

10/07/21

Extreme heat is one of the deadliest consequences of global warming. But in a state that prides itself as a climate leader, California chronically undercounts the death toll and has failed to address the growing…

Los Angeles Times

Extreme heat is one of the deadliest consequences of climate change.

By Anna M. Phillips, Tony Barboza, Ruben Vives and Sean Greene 10/07/21

For more than three weeks in 2020, back-to-back heat waves settled over the Southwest, claiming dozens of lives and leaving tens of millions of people sweltering in triple-digit temperatures. The days brought suffering and the…

Nexus Media News

Urban Heat Exposure Has Tripled

10/05/21

Extreme heat exposure suffered by the world’s urban population tripled from 1983-2016, driven largely by climate change, a study published Monday in PNAS revealed. Researchers measured the number of person-days cities reached a wet-bulb temperature…

NPR

Climate Change Is The Greatest Threat To Public Health, Top Medical Journals Warn

By Lauren Sommer 09/07/21

The rapidly warming climate is the "greatest threat" to global public health, more than 200 medical journals are warning in an unprecedented joint statement that urges world leaders to cut heat-trapping emissions to avoid "catastrophic…

The Washington Post

Beyond human endurance

By Ruby Mellen and William Neff 07/28/21

When it comes to heat, the human body is remarkably resilient — it’s the humidity that makes it harder to cool down. And humidity, driven in part by climate change, is increasing. A measurement of…

Scientific American

Why Extreme Heat Is So Deadly

By Tanya Lewis 07/22/21

In June a massive “heat dome” smothered the famously temperate Pacific Northwest, subjecting parts of Washington State, Oregon and western Canada to blistering and unprecedented temperatures. Lytton, British Columbia, set an all-time Canadian record with…

The Washington Post

Biden administration, workers grapple with health threats posed by climate change and heat

By Eli Rosenberg and Abha Bhattarai 07/19/21

Surging temperatures across the West Coast this summer are exposing another way that the changing climate threatens the country’s future: the danger it poses to workers, particularly those who work outside and in warehouses. The…

USA Today

Authorities investigate hundreds of deaths linked to torrid Pacific Northwest weather

By Elinor Aspegren 06/30/21

Authorities from Oregon to British Columbia are investigating hundreds of deaths in connection to the historic heat wave in the Pacific Northwest corridor.

The Boston Globe

Ninety degree days occurring earlier and more often. A rising toll of health effects. What does this say about climate change?

By Sabrina Shankman 06/07/21

In Boston, there are now twice as many nights when temperatures don’t drop below 70 degrees. In Milton, the earliest 90-degree day now falls two weeks earlier than the historical average. And in both places,…

usa today

‘Wake-up call:’ Climate change could edge Earth’s annual temperature past Paris agreement limits in 5 years

By Doyle Rice 05/27/21

The odds of the planet continuing to warm over the next several years have increased, top meteorologists said Thursday in a new report. In fact, within the next five years, there's now a 40% chance…

www.salon.com

An unexpected side effect of climate change? More stillbirths

By Matthew Rozsa 05/25/21

Climate change is perhaps the greatest existential threat that humanity has ever faced — and as environmental research accumulates, we keep discovering unexpected side effects of making industrial civilization reliant on fossil fuels. The latest…

Scientific American

Heat and Humidity Are Already Reaching the Limits of Human Tolerance

By Andrea Thompson 05/08/20

Over the hundreds of thousands of years of our existence on the planet, modern humans have managed to adapt to a huge range of climates—from the arid heat of the Sahara Desert to the icy…

Climate Institute

Beyond Environmental Change: How Climate Change Affects Public Health

By Christina Ospina 06/04/18

The environmental effects of climate change are well documented. The public is increasingly aware of physical changes – sea level rise, droughts and heat waves, changes in precipitation, and so on – but what about…

U.S. News

Deadly Heat Waves Threaten Third of the World

By Megan Trimble 06/20/17

Scorching heat grounded planes in parts of the U.S. on Monday, the same day researchers released a study that finds the globe is only getting hotter and, as a result, potentially deadlier. Currently, nearly a…

lopscience.iop.org

Attributing human mortality during extreme heat waves to anthropogenic climate change

By Daniel Mitchell , Claire Heaviside & Others 07/08/16

It has been argued that climate change is the biggest global health threat of the 21st century. The extreme high temperatures of the summer of 2003 were associated with up to seventy thousand excess deaths…

NBC News

Without swift action on climate change, heat waves could kill thousands in U.S. cities

By Jaclyn Jeffrey-Wilensky 06/16/19

If global warming sometimes seems like a distant or abstract threat, new research casts the phenomenon in stark, life-or-death terms. It predicts that in the absence of significant progress in efforts to curb emissions of…

Anthropocene

This is how climate change takes a toll on the heart

By Sarah DeWeerdt 03/19/19

Doctors know that cold temperatures can trigger heart attacks. But the effect of hot weather on heart attack risk has been more difficult to establish. Now, a team of German researchers has found evidence that…

Reuters

Study sees dramatic rise in heatwave deaths by 2080

By Reuters Staff 07/31/18

The number of people dying from heatwaves is likely to rise sharply in some regions by 2080 if policymakers fail to take mitigating steps in climate and health policies, according to the results of a…