Heat-related death toll in June climbs to four, all in Prince George’s County

NEW YORK - JUNE 9: A man tries to cool himself with a bottle of water during the first heat wave of the year June 9, 2008 in New York City. According to the National Weather Service temperatures will near 100 degrees today in the New York metro area with no relief in sight until Wednesday, June 11. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Four people had died from heat-related illnesses through the end of June, with all the deaths recorded in Prince George’s County, according to the latest data from the state.

The month also saw a spike in hospital visits for heat-related illnesses statewide in the second half of the month, when the heat wave still gripping the state began. The National Weather Service issu ed a “heat advisory” for most of Maryland for Monday afternoon and again for Tuesday afternoon.

State health officials have urged Marylanders to protect themselves during the summer months, issuing safety recommendations to help residents stay cool.

“We continue to strongly encourage everyone to practice safety while in the heat. Tuesday and Wednesday are poised to be bad as well,” Chase Cook, communications director for the Maryland Department of Health, said in an emailed statement Monday.

The department reported on June 5 that the first heat-related death of 2024 was a 59-year-old Hispanic man who lived in Prince George’s County. Since then, three other deaths, all men, have been reported in the county. Two were over age 65 and one was between 45 and 64 years of age; two of the victims were Black and the third was listed as “other.”

A Prince George’s County spokesperson declined to comment on the deaths, referring questions to the state health department. Cook said Monday that he was not immediately able to comment on the trend in deaths.

The numbers are included in the state health department’s weekly Heat-Related Illness Surveillance Report . The surveillance period runs from May through September each year.

The most recent data available shows that as of June 29, there had been a total of 443 emergency room visits for people suffering from heat-related illnesses since the start of the surveillance period. About half of those came in the last two weeks of June, according to the weekly reports.

The report shows that emergency room visits for heat-related illnesses were in the 30s in the first two weeks of June, then spiked to 161 during the week of June 16-22, before dropping to 116 in the week of June 23-29.

Exposure to heat for long periods can lead to serious to fatal conditions such as heat exhaustion and heat stroke . During the week of June 16, Gov. Wes Moore (D) issued a “state of preparedness” ahead of a sweltering weekend that put parts of Maryland under an “excessive heat watch” by the National Weather Service.

Surveillance reports in previous years suggest that heat-related deaths and illnesses tend to peak in July.

The health department last year recorded a total of nine heat-related deaths during heat season in Maryland, up from five deaths in 2022, which was one of the lowest death tolls of the last decade.

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