More from my interview with Amber Sullins, Chief Meteorologist of ABC 15 in Phoenix.
“Heat is the number one weather-related killer”.
New York Times, August 11, 2021:
During the deadly heat wave that blanketed Oregon and Washington in late June, (2021) about 600 more people died than would have been typical, a review of mortality data for the week of the crisis shows.
The New York Times’s analysis, based on mortality data reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by the two states, covers all causes of death, including Covid-19. But the public health agency’s initial calculations indicate that only about 60 deaths in the region were related to the coronavirus that week.
The figures are preliminary. C.D.C. officials said the death count could rise further in coming weeks as the states continue to report. “Consider it a floor,” said Lauren Rossen, a health statistician at the agency who works with the mortality data.
The Times’ estimate “is entirely consistent with a large body of knowledge indicating that days of extreme heat are dangerous and can lead to excess deaths,” said Greg Wellenius, a professor in environmental health at Boston University who has studied heat-related mortality.
More heat means more air conditioners means increasing load on the grid.