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Deadly Heat Waves Threaten Older People As Summer Nears

Nurse practitioner Anthony Carano speaks with a patient at the Mountain Park Health Center, Thursday, March 30, 2023, in Phoenix. As heat waves fueled by climate change arrive earlier, grow more intense and last longer, people over 60 who are more vulnerable to high temperatures are increasingly at risk of dying from heat-related causes. Heat related deaths are challenging community health systems, utility companies, apartment managers and local governments to better protect older people when temperatures soar. (Credit: AP Photo/Matt York)

Climate Signal: Climate change is worsening the frequency, intensity, and duration of heat waves, threatening human health. Check out our Extreme Heat and Heat Waves & Heat-Related Illness pages for more information.

Article Summary: Situated in the Sonoran Desert where temperatures have already been hitting the high 90s in April, the greater Phoenix area is the epicenter of heat-associated deaths in the U.S. Extreme heat poses a special risk for older people of color, who are more likely to have complicating factors like diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure. A 2021 study estimated more than a third of U.S. heat deaths each year can be attributed to global warming, and more than 1,100 deaths were caused from climate change-caused heat in around 200 U.S. cities, especially those in the East and Midwest, where people often don’t have air conditioning or are not acclimated to hot weather. “Phoenix really is the model for what we’ll be seeing in other places,” researcher Jennifer Ailshire told the AP. “The world is changing rapidly and I fear we are not acting fast enough to teach people how harmful rising temperatures can be.”

Full Story: AP