Boiling point

It’s getting hot. Last summer, people were hospitalized with third-degree burns after slipping and falling onto sidewalks in Arizona. The Atlantic Ocean reached hot tub levels off the Florida coast, hitting 101 degrees. Headlines warned of power outages as people cranked the air conditioning to get through the warmest year on record — and 2024 is projected to be even hotter. Heat is reshaping lifestyles, damaging economies and making people sick. In fact, extreme temperatures kill more Americans each year than even the most destructive natural disasters. How is this kind of heat changing our lives and how are we dealing with it?

200 million Americans

More than two-thirds of the population lived through heat alerts last year. These alerts typically signal conditions above 100 degrees on the national heat index, which combines humidity and air temperature to estimate how it actually feels. Anything past 103 degrees is considered dangerous; 125 degrees is extremely so. Last August, several states in the southern Plains surpassed 130 degrees, rivaling global hot spots like Death Valley and the Middle East.

3x heat waves

Americans today face heat waves — when temperatures surpass historical averages for consecutive days — three times more often than they did in the 1960s. Recent heat waves saw roads splitting open in Salt Lake City and hospital workers placing overheated patients in ice-filled body bags in Phoenix. Even worse, a high-pressure “heat dome” settled over the Pacific Northwest for five days in 2021, killing about 650 people as temperatures soared to 119 degrees in Portland, Oregon, hot enough to melt electrical cables.

2,302 dead

That’s how many were killed by heat in the United States last year — up from 1,602 in 2021 and 1,722 in 2022. The annual average is 1,300, more than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. Temperatures above 104 degrees can damage the brain, nervous system and vital organs, while exacerbating other illnesses. Heat can even cause heart attacks, as dilated blood vessels and active sweat glands generate a dangerous combination of low blood pressure and dehydration.

$100 billion

That’s what excessive heat cost the American economy alone in 2020, in terms of lost productivity. That number is projected to reach $500 billion by 2050. Rising temperatures slow people down, increase absenteeism and cause almost 23 million workplace injuries each year. This cuts across industries, indoors and out, from agriculture and construction to manufacturing and food service. The U.S. has no federal regulations to protect workers from heat, but five states do: California, Colorado, Minnesota, Oregon and Washington.

5.7% more

violent crime

It’s not just a Hollywood trope: Heat makes people more aggressive. As the brain devotes more energy to regulating the body’s internal temperature, it sends less resources to the prefrontal cortex, which manages impulse control and behavior. This can cause adrenaline spikes that activate a fight-or-flight response. One study published by the National Bureau of Economic Research found that violent crime in Los Angeles climbs almost 6 percent on days above 85 degrees.

50 Gatorade bottles

That’s the average volume of sports drinks purchased by each American in 2021, totaling 1.8 billion gallons. Enough to fill almost 3,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools with the sweet liquid rich in electrolytes. As temperatures rise, our bodies need to replenish these minerals, including sodium and potassium, to stay hydrated and fend off heat exhaustion and heat stroke. The electrolyte market is projected to reach $59 billion by 2032.

15 degrees of relief

Simple remedies like painting LA roadways a lighter shade of gray can lower surface temperatures this much. Asphalt and concrete typically absorb and reflect 95 percent of the energy from sunlight. This can contribute to urban heat islands, where about 41 million Americans live in temperatures up to 7 degrees higher than rural areas and tree-dense neighborhoods.

This story appears in the July/August 2024 issue of Deseret Magazine . Learn more about how to subscribe .