WFCN —
The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that as a heat wave spreads throughout most of the country, about 30 people have already perished from the excessive heat.
Extreme heat continued into the next day in Southern California, with highs in the triple digits predicted. Michelle Jorden, chief medical examiner for Santa Clara County, predicted that the heat wave will last until the weekend.
“Dangerous and record-breaking heat” is predicted to persist for much of the West through the end of the week, according to a Thursday update from the National Weather Service. Simultaneously, “sizzling temperatures” were brewing over the Southeast and Central Plains.
At least 28 persons have died from heat-related causes in the past week, according to a story in The Washington Post. “Reports from state officials, medical examiners and news outlets” were referenced from the states of Arizona, California, and Oregon. Because “more than 135 million people across the Lower 48 were under heat alerts,” we can anticipate an increase in this figure.
With heat records broken last week in areas like San Jose, Fresno, and Oakland in California, the state has already recorded the majority of the fatalities. As of Wednesday, fourteen cases were being investigated by Jorden’s office alone. They were discovered in the residences of almost half of the individuals, who were 65 and up. In Death Valley National Park, where temperatures reached 128 degrees, a motorcyclist succumbed to heat exhaustion and died in California.
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“Climate change is leading to more frequent, more severe and longer-lasting episodes of extreme heat in California, posing a greater danger to Californians,” stated the California Department of Public Health. “No other weather-related hazard kills more people directly than heat.”
Extreme heat can cause a variety of health problems, including cramps, fatigue, and even heat stroke. If you’re experiencing any of the following symptoms—heavy perspiration, muscle cramps, weakness, headache, nausea, vomiting, paleness, fatigue, or dizziness—it could be a sign that heat is badly impacting your health.
According to the California Department of Public Health, some demographics are more vulnerable to the negative effects of heat on health. People without homes, those working in hot or cold conditions, the elderly, young children, those with physical or mental impairments, those expecting a child, and those with little financial resources are all part of these categories.
Despite heat being the leading cause of death in the United States due to weather, reports indicate that heat-related fatalities are frequently overlooked: “Heat-related deaths aren’t always easy to spot; they are frequently misdiagnosed as due to heart failure or other cardiovascular issues, even though heat was actually the cause,” it stated.
Nevertheless, according to Duke University’s Heat Policy Innovation Hub director Ashley Ward, there are indications that reporting is getting better.
More than 100,000 people would die each year from heat-related causes by the turn of the century, according to a report issued last August by the California health department. Scientists predict that by the year 2050, heat-related fatalities in California might range from 6,700 to 11,300. According to the analysis, the state saw a particularly lethal year in 2022 as a result of the heat. There were 395 more fatalities than anticipated during a 10-day heat wave, accounting for 5% of the total.
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Approximately 1,670 fatalities occurred that year as a result of heat, according to a study by the Kaiser Family Foundation, which drew on preliminary data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Reports from the KFF indicate that the heat-related mortality rate is at its highest point in over twenty years. This year’s data is not yet available, but it has been very hot across the nation. The year 2021 had the second-highest recorded mortality rate.
Although the KFF and the CDPH both agreed that increasing global temperatures are a factor in health-related fatalities, the KFF argued that this was not the sole factor.
A crucial role in heat-related sickness has emerged: substance usage, particularly the misuse of methamphetamines, it added. “Abusing methamphetamines, which can raise core body temperature to dangerous levels, along with being homeless increases the risk of death.”
According to an article in The Washington Post, the United States has set hundreds of heat records since July of this year. According to reports, even rescue helicopters have been forced to land because of the extreme heat. More than 2,300 people died from heat-related causes in the United States in 2018, up from 1,700 in 2022, according to that same estimate.