Opinion: Health care providers need help to treat patients during extreme heat events
The world’s hottest summer on record is now bleeding into the fall. Instead of enjoying a cool respite from the heat, millions of Americans started September enduring temperatures so high that schools were forced to close across the country. Extreme heat continued into October, leading organizers to cancel the Twin Cities Marathon due to a forecasted high of 91 degrees — 25 degrees higher than normal for Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Heat waves have rarely garnered the attention they deserve, despite being one of the most dangerous natural hazards on earth. But now, with heat continuing to take a devastating toll on vulnerable communities into autumn — including deaths in the elderly and those with chronic illnesses from New York, Arizona and elsewhere — extreme heat’s persistent threat to health is undeniable. Arizona’s Maricopa County just announced that 2023 has set a new record for the number of heat-associated deaths: 469, with more than 150 others under investigation.
