Forecasters warn Dangerous and potentially record-breaking heatwave It is expected to spread across much of the central and eastern United States next week, and health officials are fearful and preparing for it.
The coming heat could break records from Texas to New England, putting people who aren’t prepared for the extreme temperatures at risk. For people living in areas under extreme heat warnings, “they are at high risk of heatstroke and illness without effective cooling and adequate hydration,” the National Weather Service said.
The stakes are high: Extreme heat kills roughly 154 people per day in the U.S., according to a 2022 study. And the risks are increasing dramatically with climate change, as evidenced by 12 consecutive months of record-breaking heat.
But officials across the U.S. have been planning ahead for how to keep vulnerable populations cool, including children, the elderly, people with underlying health conditions like diabetes or heart disease, people without air conditioning, the homeless and those who work outdoors.
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“Cities have no choice but to start thinking about this already,” Kevin Lanza, an assistant professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences at the University of Texas at Houston in Austin, told USA Today. “This isn’t just an issue for Sunbelt cities in traditionally warm climates. It’s happening in those cities and in places that are considered cold as well.”
Plans include appointing heat officers in Arizona, distributing free air conditioners in Oregon and issuing early heat warnings in New Jersey.
In some areas, next week will be the first big test of the year for local officials’ preparedness. “For many areas, this will be the first heat wave of the year,” AccuWeather meteorologist Brandon Buckingham said.
Excessive heat is most likely to occur in the Ohio Valley and the Mid-Atlantic Coast. Climate Prediction Center “High temperatures are expected to be in the low to mid 90s, with many locations potentially reaching daytime high temperature records,” the center said on its X (formerly Twitter) account.
The weather service said that next week in Washington, D.C., “heat index temperatures will easily exceed 100 degrees most afternoons.”
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When dangerous heat sets in, heat prevention measures get into full swing
You don’t have to live in the desert in the middle of summer for the heat to be deadly: Maryland health officials just announced the first heat-related death this year, when a 59-year-old man died in Prince George’s County, near Washington, DC.
As summer heat increases, health officials are becoming more concerned.
The New Jersey Department of Health warned residents this week to prepare for a heat wave. “Don’t wait until the heat hits to start protecting yourself,” one social media post said. The soaring temperatures have prompted California Occupational Safety and Health Administration heat standards to be implemented, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently launched a national tracking system to check heat health risks down to the zip code level.
(However, it is worth noting that some states, including Texas and Florida, are moving to weaken heat protections for outdoor workers.)
Some regions are trying more extreme measures
Health checks for vulnerable people and reminders to keep pets and children safe may have been mainstays of public health policy over the summer, but now in some parts of the country, officials are turning to creative solutions.
- Text Message AlertsThe California Department of Emergency Services is using text messages and social media to warn people about high temperatures that could pose a health risk, especially for people who work outdoors, are unhoused or who may be at increased risk because of pre-existing conditions, spokeswoman Amy Palmer said. The agency is also developing an action plan to help people prepare for extreme heat.
- Free AC Programs: Following a deadly heatwave that hit the Pacific Northwest for several days this year, residents of Portland, Oregon, can call 311 to request free air conditioning before temperatures rise. The 2021 heatwave killed about 70 people in Multnomah County, where Portland is located. Most of those who died were elderly, alone, and without air conditioning.
- Body bags with ice: Emergency responders in Phoenix are using the “ice immersion technique” to quickly cool heatstroke patients, reported The Arizona Republic, part of the USA Today Network. They fill plastic body bags with water and ice to quickly cool overheated patients with temperatures above 104 degrees Fahrenheit before transporting them to the hospital. The Phoenix Fire Department first tested the technique last summer and has been using it since this year.
- The state’s “Chief Heat Management Officer”: Arizona, notorious for its brutal desert heat, has appointed a chief heat officer, the first such position in any state. According to the Arizona Republic, Chief Heat Officer Eugene Rivers, a longtime epidemiologist with the state Department of Health, will implement Governor Katie Hobbs’ heat plan and coordinate the response across agencies.
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Heat countermeasures in hot areas include cooling centers and warnings.
In places like Jacksonville, Florida, and Las Vegas, where scorching heat is commonplace, people are taking extra precautions against the summer heat.
In Jacksonville, humidity is adding another hazard and making heat levels worse in an already scorching hot state, and Las Vegas is struggling with overnight lows that aren’t getting much cooler.
Local health officials say they’re taking the risk seriously. “If you know something is going to happen, you have to be prepared,” said Dr. Sunil Joshi, who took over as the city’s first health officer last summer after Jacksonville recorded seven consecutive days of heat index temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
The city has been updating its existing plans to deal with the heatwaves and has opened multiple cooling centers across Jacksonville, one of the largest cities in the U.S. by area, including in libraries and gyms. Preparations have been sensitive to vulnerable communities, including the homeless and those without working air conditioning.
In Las Vegas, Clark County officials are working to help vulnerable residents and tourists unaccustomed to the heat, where daytime highs can soar from 80 degrees to well over 100 degrees in a matter of days, said Clark County Commissioner Michael Naft.
Temperatures have been so high that the county trauma center has seen several cases of burns from the heat of pavement.
“You have to hope that people will adjust their behaviors and patterns pretty quickly,” he says. “And that’s always going to be difficult.”
Meanwhile, experts say adapting to extreme heat will require structural changes to the way cities are built.
Lanza, of UTHealth Houston, said cities need to be redesigned to avoid a phenomenon called the urban heat island effect, where areas with lots of paved roads, dark surfaces and few trees get hotter. To reverse the effect, cities need to change the way they’re designed, painting roofs to reflect sunlight and planting green spaces on top of buildings.
