Story at a glance
- Due to climate change, heat waves are expected to increase in both frequency and duration.
- Forecasters predict heat records may be broken in affected states over the next couple of days.
- The extreme temperatures will disproportionately affect underserved communities and heighten the risk of poor health outcomes.
As the nation heads into what is expected to be a scorching summer, nearly one-third of Americans are already under heat warnings or advisories today.
According to the National Weather Service, individuals residing from Northern Florida to Michigan will experience the extreme heat, which is expected to last through Friday.
Climate change will result in longer, more intense heat waves in the future, raising the risk of heat-related injury, illness, or death. The toll will fall largely on underserved communities, as those experiencing homelessness, living without air conditioning or sufficient ventilation will be at a heightened risk of poor health outcomes.
With the heat wave comes the potential for severe thunderstorms and power outages, spelling concern for those who rely on home medical devices such as dialysis machines. To date, heat-related weather emergencies are the deadliest natural disasters compared with floods, tornadoes, and hurricanes.
Air quality can also decline during heat waves due to increased rates of stagnant smog, or ozone pollution, while dry heat can fuel wildfires further compounding poor air quality via fine particulate matter spread.
In the next few days, heat indexes could reach the triple digits and may break temperature records.
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Central Georgia, southwest Indiana, southeast Missouri, western Kentucky and Southern Illinois are all forecasted to experience extreme temperatures, continuing a broader trend of above average temperatures seen throughout the country in recent weeks.
A study published in 2018 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration anticipated more frequent and prolonged heat waves as climate change continues to worsen.
“Frequency of heat waves increased from an average of two heat waves per year during the 1960s to around six per year during the 2010s,” they wrote, adding that “the average heat wave season is also 45 days longer now than in the 1960s.”
In addition to the health toll inflicted by heat waves, increased temperatures also threaten crop supply and infrastructure, posing challenges to those who work in the agriculture and construction industries.
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