Nearly 30 people in the U.S. have already died of extreme heat as a heat wave settles across much of the country, said a report published Wednesday in The Washington Post .
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Heat wave conditions persisted in Southern California the following day, with triple-digit temperatures expected. Santa Clara County Chief Medical Examiner Michelle Jorden said the heat wave is expected to continue through the end of the week.
A Thursday update from the National Weather Service said “dangerous and record-breaking heat,” is expected to continue for much of the West as well through the end of the week. At the same time, “sizzling temperatures,” were also beginning to build across the Central Plains and Southeast.
According to The Washington Post’s report, at least 28 people by died heat in the last week. It cited “reports from state officials, medical examiners and news outlets,” from California, Oregon and Arizona. This number is expected to grow, as “ more than 135 million people across the Lower 48 were under heat alerts.”
Most of the deaths reported already have been in California as cities such as San Jose, Fresno and Oakland broke heat records last week. Jorden’s office alone was investigating 14 cases as of Wednesday. More than half were older than 65 and found in their own homes. Deaths reported in California included a motorcyclist who died of heat exposure in Death Valley National Park , where temperatures reached 128 degrees.
“Climate change is leading to more frequent, more severe, and longer-lasting episodes of extreme heat in California, posing a greater danger to Californians,” according to California Department of Public Health . “Heat kills more people directly than any other weather-related hazard.”
Heat cramps, heat exhaustion and heat stroke are all potential dangers related to high temperatures. Warning signs that someone’s health is being negatively impacted by heat include heavy sweating, muscle cramps, weakness, headache, nausea or vomiting, paleness, tiredness or dizziness.
California’s Department of Public Health noted that certain population groups are at greater risk of the health-related impacts of heat. These groups include unhoused people, those working outdoors or in unconditioned indoor environments, older adults, infants and children, those with chronic health conditions, people with disabilities, pregnant people, and those with low income.
Even though heat is the top weather-related killer in the U.S., deaths from heat are often missed, per The Washington Post: “ Deaths from heat aren’t always obvious; they are often missed, categorized instead as heart failure or other cardiovascular problems, even if heat was the trigger,” it said.
However, Ashley Ward, director of the Heat Policy Innovation Hub at Duke University, told the outlet that there are signs reporting is improving.
A report released by the California health department last August said that heat-related deaths in the United States have been projected to rise to more than 100,000 per year by the end of the century. In California researchers estimate there could be between 6,700 to 11,300 heat-related deaths per year by 2050. In the state, 2022 was a particularly deadly one due to heat, said the report. During a 10-day heat wave there were 395 excess deaths, 5% more than expected.
Heat was the underlying or contributing cause of about 1,670 deaths nationwide that year, according to a report from the Kaiser Family Foundation , citing provisional data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“That’s the highest heat-related death rate in at least two decades,” said the KFF. “Data from this year, which has been exceptionally hot in much of the country, is not yet available. The next-highest death rate was logged in 2021.”
While the KFF, like the CDPH, acknowledged that rising global temperatures are impacting heath deaths, it said that’s not the only thing driving the increase.
“Substance abuse, especially misuse of methamphetamines, has emerged as a major factor in heat-related illness,” it explained. “Methamphetamines can cause body temperature to increase to dangerous levels , and the combination of meth abuse, heat, and homelessness can be fatal.”
This year, hundreds of heat records have been set in the U.S. since July, per The Washington Post report. It said that even rescue helicopters have been grounded due to the severe heat. That report also showed that heat deaths in the U.S. are still increasing, from approximately 1,700 in 2022 to more than 2,300 last year.
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