Heat is likely killing more people in the Midwest and Great Plains than what’s recorded. Here’s...

When we lived in Arkansas years ago, I played softball with a bunch of lawyers. Often the temperature would hit 100 with high levels of humidity. We would play and I loved it. Now, 40 years later, I play in 85 with humidity at the 70% level and wonder how I did it since it is tough today

“Heat is the deadliest climate-driven disaster in the U.S. according to the National Weather Service, killing more people last year than hurricanes, tornadoes and floods combined. But experts say official estimates of deaths due to hot temperatures are likely low.

* Extreme heat can cause a multitude of life-threatening health effects. Some are explicitly related to high temperatures and have it in their name, like heat stroke, said Dr. Alok Sengupta, an emergency medicine physician and the chief medical officer at Mercy Hospital St. Louis.

Data discrepancies
Even official data tracking heat deaths can reveal reporting gaps. The National Weather Service reported 207 heat fatalities in 2023, while the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says approximately 1,220 people die from heat every year.
The NWS also reports state-specific numbers. In 2023, the agency does not list any heat deaths from Missouri, but the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services said 34 people died from heat-related illness that year. A

spokesperson for Missouri’s DHSS said it may not be possible to compare numbers between agencies because of “differences in case ascertainment and classification.”

SOURCE : https://www.kcur.org/news/2024-08-16/heat-deaths-data-midwest


I.) EPA
United States Environmental Protection Agency

Climate Change Impacts

Climate Impacts in the Midwest
On This Page:

* Overview
* Human Health
* Water Resources
* Agriculture and Ecosystems

Key Points

* Temperature increase in the Midwest has accelerated in recent decades, particularly nighttime and winter temperatures.

* This region will likely experience warmer and wetter winters, springs with heavy precipitation, and hotter summers with longer dry periods.

* Risks to human health are expected to rise with warmer temperatures, reduced air quality, and increased allergens.

* There may be higher yields of important agricultural crops for a limited period of time. However, over time, increasingly warmer temperatures and other stressors are expected to decrease yields.

Related Links :

EPA:
* EPA, Great Lakes
* EPA Region 5 (including the Midwest states of IL, IN, MI, MN, OH, and WI)
* EPA Region 7 (including the Midwest states of IA and MO)
* EPA, The Great Lakes Restoration Initiative EXIT


Other:
* IPCC Working Group II: North America (2014)
* USGCRP Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States: Midwest
* NOAA Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory

SOURCE : https://climatechange.chicago.gov/climate-impacts/climate-impacts-midwest

Instead of battling what we can't control how about learning how to deal with it.