Study: Heat Deaths in US Hit Record High in 2023

Heat, along with the many health problems it causes, was responsible for at least 2,325 deaths in the US last year. That’s according to a recent study published in the Journal of American Medicine. 

The number of deaths is a record. But it’s also likely much lower than heat’s real toll.

“The way that death certificates are filled out, the people that are filling them out don’t always know the full circumstances that led to the death. So we’re only probably scratching the surface of it,” study co-author Jeffrey Howard told CNN. “The fact that you see this trend tells me that there’s probably many more deaths that we are just unable to measure.” Howard is a professor of public health at the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Howard’s team used Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data from 1999-2023 to survey trends in heat deaths. The team found that deaths rates linked to heat rose 117% in that time. This includes what Howard calls a “hockey stick” increase in 2016. Then, deaths increased sharply. It made the upsurge on the chart look like the bend of a hockey stick.  

A warming globe driven by climate change is the main culprit for the deaths, Howard said. Many of the deaths were clustered in states prone to hot, dry summers. Texas, Arizona, California, and Nevada were very hard-hit in 2023. 

One positive note? Deaths linked to heat are preventable, health expert Kristie L. Ebi told The New York Times. Ebi is a professor of health at the University of Washington. By raising knowledge of the signs of health problems linked to heat, and by giving more resources to those hit the hardest by high temps, we can ease some of the harm, experts say. 

Reflect: What are some ways people can stay safe and healthy when it gets very hot outside?