Massachusetts is Now Tracking How Many People Died Due to Heat

After days of forecasters warning of dangerous heat, Massachusetts will be identifying and evaluating if anyone died due to the heat. Previously Massachusetts was among states that did not track heat-related deaths where exposure to extreme heat was a secondary factor. Kristie Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences, is quoted.

Heat-Related Emergencies Are Soaring in the U.S. Can Hospitals Keep Up?

The New York Times

Medical providers and public health experts worry that the health care system is poorly equipped to handle the influx. The UW's Dr. Jeremy Hess, professor of environmental and occupational health sciences, global health and emergency medicine; and Kristie Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences, are quoted.

Mishmash of how US heat deaths are counted complicates efforts to keep people safe as Earth warms

AP News

Even when it seems obvious that extreme heat was a factor, death certificates don’t always reflect the role it played. Experts say a mishmash of ways more than 3,000 counties calculate heat deaths means we don’t really know how many people die in the U.S. each year because of high temperatures in an ever warming world.

Kristie Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW, is quoted.

When temps rise, so do medical risks — should doctors bring it up more?

NPR

An 80-plus-degree day is not sizzling by Phoenix standards. It wasn’t even high enough to trigger an official heat warning for the wider public. But research has shown that those temperatures, coming so early in June, would drive up the number of heat-related hospital visits and deaths across the Boston region.

Kristie Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW, is quoted.

July keeps sizzling as Phoenix hits another 110-degree day and wildfires spread in California

AP News

Phoenix sizzled through its 31st consecutive day of at least 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43.3 Celsius) and other parts of the country grappled Sunday with record temperatures after a week that saw significant portions of the U.S. population subject to extreme heat.

Kristie Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW, is quoted.

Record heat waves illuminate plight of poorest Americans who suffer without air conditioning

AP News

As climate change fans hotter and longer heat waves, breaking record temperatures across the U.S. and leaving dozens dead, the poorest Americans suffer the hottest days with the fewest defenses. Air conditioning, once a luxury, is now a matter of survival.

Kristie Ebi, professor of global health and of environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW, is quoted.

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