Heat Waves: A Global Sweat

No, it’s not just you. It actually is really hot. We’re talking triple digits around the world. This summer alone, nine all-time temperature records have been broken. That’s dangerous, especially in urban landscapes.

Per Curbed, “according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, extreme heat now causes more deaths in U.S. cities than all other weather events combined.”

And it can be even worse for the most vulnerable among us: pregnant women and the elderly.

Per Vanessa Romo at NPR:

An estimated 70 deaths have been connected to the scorching temperatures and humidity that rolled over Canada’s Quebec province last week, and officials say the number may rise as hospital and nursing home records are reviewed.

Most of the people who died as the region reached temperatures up to 95 degrees are elderly men and women living alone in apartments with no air conditioning, and many had chronic health conditions.

What’s causing this heat? And what can we do to stay safe in scorching temperatures?

Produced by Stef Collet.

GUESTS

Motoko Rich, Tokyo Bureau Chief, New York Times; @motokorich

Chris Bruin, Meteorologist, The Weather Channel; @TWCChrisBruint

Martin Hoerling, Research meteorologist, NOAA’s Earth System Research Lab

Dr. Georges Benjamin, Executive Director, American Public Health Association

David Hondula, Assistant Professor, School of Geographic Sciences and Urban Planning, Arizona State University; @ASUHondulat

For more, visit https://the1a.org.

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