Preventing Summer Heat Deaths

Reported June 2007

MIAMI (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) -- Summertime has most of us thinking of barbeques and beach days. But the summer heat can be deadly! On average, about 1,500 people die from heat-related causes in the United States in an average summer -- that's more than tornados, hurricanes, lightning, and floods combined./p>

"It's very hot, very humid and very sweaty!" "It takes your breath away." "It feels like death!" These are some of the sounds you can hear when walking down the street in the summertime. According to climatologist Larry Kalkstein, Ph.D., summer heat can really be deadly. Dr. Kalkstein says, "As a matter of fact, heat is the largest weather-related killer in the United States by a large margin."

Dr. Kalkstein says the way to alert people of dangerous conditions is the heat index, but it still doesn't tell us much. He says, "It's a combination of temperature and humidity, and that's all it really takes into account." Weather forecasters will say it feels like 100 degrees but that doesn't tell us how dangerous conditions are. Now, Dr. Kalkstein and colleagues have developed a heat stress index.

Dr. Kalkstein described the new index to Ivanhoe. He said, "What the heat stress index does try to look at the relative impact of weather." It includes previous weather conditions, the maximum and minimum temperatures in your area, cloud cover, cooling degree hours, and consecutive days of extreme heat. The idea is the conditions where you live matter. "What's interesting about this is that you can actually measure how people are going to respond to the weather much better than just an absolute index," Dr. Kalkstein said.

Using the formula of 90 degrees in Boston and 90 degrees in Miami, the new index will render different heat stress indexes -- partly because people living in Miami are used to the heat. The index is on a scale of zero to 10.

The National Weather Service will test the new heat stress index in 10 U.S. cities this summer. It could become a mainstream tool by next summer if the test goes well. However, Dr. Kalkstein says the index would not benefit travelers as much because it's based on the previous weather conditions in that particular city. So, while the sun can be fun... remember to stay safe, and look out for a new tool to help you.

Click here to Go Inside This Science or contact:

Laurence S. Kalkstein, Ph.D.
Professor of Geography & Regional Studies
University of Miami
Marco Island, FL 34145
239-393-0275
larryk@udel.edu

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