Photo by C4K3 via Wikimedia Commons
Worldwide, extreme heat kills at least 300,000 people each year. “High temperature events” have numerous adverse health effects that can directly and indirectly lead to harm and death. And there’s no question: Summer heat and heat waves are getting more intense.
Extreme heat can induce heart attacks, strokes and organ failures and it can be difficult to determine whether those deaths were caused directly by heat, unrelated medical conditions or a mix of heat and pre-existing conditions.
As extreme heat events become more prevalent, communities across the world are bracing, preparing and already feeling the health impacts associated with extreme heat waves. Places in temperate climates may not be equipped to deal with high temperatures, and a relatively mild heat wave can turn deadly.
All of these factors make reporting on the health impacts of extreme temperature challenging. Here are some tips designed to help color in this complex topic.
1. Highlight the serious risk of death from extreme heat and that it is becoming more commonplace.
Extreme heat Is deadlier than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined and it is getting more intense. The eight warmest years on record have now occurred since 2014, and 2016 remains the hottest year ever. Researchers from the Union of Concerned Scientists found that by mid-century, under a no-action scenario, “the average number of days per year with a heat index above 100°F will more than double, while the number of days per year above 105°F will quadruple.” Unless drastic change is taken to limit the effects of climate change, dangerous heat will become much more common and more people will be adversely harmed by it.
2. Make the connection that a warming climate increases the risks of other illnesses and diseases.
People with chronic medical conditions like heart disease, mental illness, poor blood circulation, and obesity are more vulnerable to extreme heat. People with these diseases may be taking medications that can make the effect of extreme heat worse or may be less likely to sense and respond to changes in temperature. People who are overweight or obese tend to retain more body heat and are consequently more likely to overheat. Heat waves are not highlighted with the same alarm as many other extreme weather events (like hurricanes and tornadoes), and some vulnerable individuals might not see the risk for themselves.
“The disease after tomorrow” is an interactive article that shows how a warming climate invites deadly diseases and pests to have a larger range. As the climate warms, more health risks will come not only from other people but increasingly from the environment around us.
3. Be aware of how extreme heat disproportionately harms underserved, impoverished and vulnerable communities.
In divested and underserved communities, people don’t necessarily have the resources to adequately address health problems and can be at a higher risk during a heat wave. Many environmental justice communities are on the margins of industrial corridors where they are faced with higher levels of pollution and often experience the heat island effect. Extreme heat events compound with other environmental stressors and they can be punishing on areas that are already struggling with community health.
In environmental justice communities, often in urban, low income and low tree canopy areas, the heat island effect is disproportionately higher. Heat islands are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas. Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies. Urban areas, where these structures are highly concentrated and greenery is limited, become “islands” of higher temperatures relative to outlying areas. Daytime temperatures in urban areas are about 1-7°F higher than temperatures in outlying areas, and nighttime temperatures are about 2-5°F higher.
Older adults do not adjust as well as young people to sudden changes in temperature. They’re more likely to have a chronic medical condition that changes normal body responses to heat and more likely to take prescription medicines that affect the body’s ability to control its temperature or sweat.
“[Incarcerated people] have limited mobility and suffer from a disproportionate amount of mental health and medical comorbidities that are exacerbated by exposure to extreme temperatures,” environmental epidemiologist Julianne Skarha and her coauthors wrote in a 2020 paper in the American Journal of Public Health assessing the health effects of extreme heat among incarcerated populations. People who are incarcerated often do not have a say in the conditions of the prison they’re in and often can’t voice their concerns to the broader public. In prisons that are not prepared for extreme heat, a heat wave can lead to miserable and dangerous conditions.
Children cannot regulate their body temperatures as effectively as adults. High temperatures and extreme heat can cause children to become sick very quickly in several ways. It can cause dehydration, heat exhaustion, heat cramps and heat stroke, which is a medical emergency. High heat can also contribute to irritability both for children and their caregivers.
Heat exposure is especially dangerous for populations with pre-existing conditions like high blood pressure, which Indigenous people are more likely to have than white people.
According to an AGU study, lower income populations currently face a 40% higher exposure to heat waves than people with higher incomes. By the end of the century, the poorest 25% of the world’s population will be exposed to heat waves at a rate equivalent to the rest of the population combined. There are a number of contributing factors to these statistics, but the lack of access to resources to mitigate extreme heat is central.
4. Share solutions-based approaches that address extreme heat events.
With every degree increase of global warming, dangerous heat events are more likely, and we are barreling toward that future. Committed and extensive climate action is our best chance to keep extreme heat events as rare as possible and save thousands of lives. It’s essential that journalists call out the dangers of heat waves and help communities and elected officials move towards solutions-based action.
Phoenix established a $2.8 million Office of Heat Response and Mitigation — the first and, so far, only publicly funded office of its kind. Most cities spread heat wave emergency responsibilities across departments, but heat is the agency’s sole focus. Its four employees are charged with preventing deaths and lowering urban temperatures, which they hope to achieve through initiatives as simple as handing out bottled water and as ambitious as doubling the city’s tree cover.
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