Scientists Estimate Heat-Related Deaths In 297 US Counties Nearly 10X Higher Than Thought [View all]

[hatrack]

A new study from the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) reports that heat-related fatalities in the United States are much higher than what was previously thought, and that even moderate heat can be deadly.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that about 600 deaths can be attributed to heat each year. However, the researchers found evidence that this number is actually in the thousands. The experts determined that heat contributed to an average of 5,600 deaths each year between 1997 and 2006 in 297 counties.

For the study, heat was not simply based on the temperature, but on the temperatures that are typical for each particular region. From this perspective, most of the heat-related fatalities were associated with weather that is not considered extremely hot.

EDIT

The death statistics were combined with the Parameter-elevation Relationships on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM), which estimates temperatures across the United States within a precise range of four square kilometers. Across the counties examined, moderate heat killed 3,309 people per year, while extreme heat killed 2,299 people each year.

EDIT

https://www.earth.com/news/heat-kills-thousands-in-the-united-states-each-year/