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Last winter was the warmest on record in the United States, and heat-related emergencies were at an all-time high in some parts of the country.
In the United States, most emergency room visits are for Heat-related emergencies – such as heat stroke, heat cramps and sunburn – occur during the hot season from May to September, with a peak in July and August. Data Collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
During last year's hot season, heat-related illnesses accounted for 20% more emergency room visits compared to the previous five seasons. Data from hundreds of emergency rooms across the country showed that 180 of every 100,000 total visits were due to heat-related illnesses in 2023, compared to 151 of every 100,000 total visits from 2018 to 2022.
As the rate of heat-related emergency room visits increases from previous years and from other departments during the same warm season, the risks of extreme heat are becoming more severe. In July and August of last year, there were more than 300 heat-related emergencies for 100,000 total emergency room visits, CDC data show. This is 50% higher than the average peak from 2018 to 2022, and more than three times higher than the other warm-season months during the same year. In previous years, the risk during the hottest period was about twice as high as during the other warmest months of the same year.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services considers a day a day. High temperature A day in which the temperature is greater than 95% of the average historical temperature in that region. The CDC has evaluated heat-related emergency room visits with similar thresholds.
In the year In 2023, all U.S. states experienced at least one day in which the rate of heat-related emergency department visits peaked, exceeding 95% of rates from 2018 to 2022. In one particular southern region — Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas — emergency room visits for heat-related illnesses have peaked here more than a third time since the 2023 warm season, including a 16-day stretch. In four southern states, spanning 21 states, 2023 resulted in the highest number of additional days of emergency room visits for heat-related illnesses.
“As climate change leads to longer, hotter, and more frequent extreme temperatures, heat exposure-related deaths and illnesses are an ongoing public health concern,” CDC experts wrote in a report published Thursday. “Real-time monitoring of weather conditions and adverse health outcomes can guide public health professionals in emergency communication and implementation of heat-related prevention measures.”
Last August, the HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity partnered with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Dashboard It uses data from the National EMS Information System to track the rate of EMS responses to 911 calls for heat-related illness and injury. Data is updated every two weeks, showing where states and counties fall relative to the national average and showing disparities by age, race, gender and urban-rural.
“It's the deadliest of all types of extreme weather, and heat exposure is getting worse,” said Dr. John Balbus, acting director of the HHS Office of Climate Change and Health Equity. But data on heat-related deaths don't shed light on where people actually get sick. This new dashboard allows you to see where needs are greatest, plan for the future and save lives.
The CDC also used it Data Collected from health units participating in the National Syndromic Surveillance Program Surveillance System for Early Notification of Community-Based Epidemics (ESSENCE) to track heat-related health trends. A spike in heat-related emergency room visits in June and August prompted the agency to issue a public health alert, according to Thursday's report.
The new CDC analysis may underestimate the prevalence of heat-related illnesses because it does not capture cases among people seeking treatment elsewhere, and the COVID-19 pandemic may affect overall health care utilization patterns. A broader regional analysis may obscure more local trends.
Understanding regional trends and differences in heat-related emergency room visits can help public health officials better design and implement intervention strategies, according to a new CDC report.
“The effective implementation of heat reduction strategies is associated with social health care,” the authors wrote, such as air conditioning, cooling areas and reliable energy networks.
Some groups are particularly vulnerable to the health risks of heat waves, including children and adults with underlying health conditions, pregnant women and outdoor workers. In July, President Joe Biden asked the Labor Department to issue a “danger alert” to protect workers from extreme heat.
“For years, heat has been the number one cause of weather-related deaths in America. Workers, including farmers, ranchers, firefighters and construction workers, are disproportionately affected by extreme heat,” the administration said. press releaseIn the year On the “Danger Alert” proposal.