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Heat-Related Deaths, RealFeel Temperatures Up This Summer

By Alex Sosnowski, Senior Expert Meteorologist for AccuWeather.com

AccuWeather.com reports the combination of extreme heat, high humidity, very warm nights are taking their toll, increasing heat-related fatalities this year.

The bulk of the deaths are occurring in the elderly, children, homeless and immigrants in the Southwest.

In many states, the number of deaths attributed to the heat are ahead of last year's levels and the average over the years.

Temperatures from the Desert Southwest to the Great Plains, Midwest and the Atlantic Seaboard have been much higher than usual this year during the period from June 1 to the last week of July.

According to Fox News and the AP, 134 illegal immigrants have died in heat-related deaths as of July 15, 2010. This figure is up from 93 in 2009 and 102 in 2008 during the same point in the year.

According to Jan Null, Adjunct Professor of Meteorology at San Francisco State University, as of midsummer 2010, there have been 25 hyperthermia deaths of children left in cars. The average for the entire year, during the period from 1998 through 2009, was 37.

While we cannot say for sure if the increase in the number of heat-related deaths is up solely because of hotter-than-average weather conditions, it is likely a major contributor in addition to other related weather conditions.

Stressed parents scrambling to get to work and forgetting their toddler is still in the car, seniors cutting back on cooling their home and medication so they can pay other bills and more homeless people due to economic conditions could be some contributing factors to the greater death toll so far this year.

However, the higher the temperature and especially the RealFeel temperature, the more stress on the body and hence the greater risk of heat-related illness or death.

The RealFeel temperature not only incorporates temperature and humidity levels, like the Heat Index, but also factors in wind, UV index, cloud cover, visibility and other parameters.

While records of the humidity, RealFeel temperature or Heat Index are not maintained, accurate temperature records have been kept in many areas for 100 years or more.

This summer so far is ranking in the top ten hottest on record and in some cases, at least in parts of the Midwest and the East is rivaling the hottest ever.

New York City is on track for its hottest month on record this July. Records date back to the mid-1800s in the Big Apple.

In many cases, it is not only the high temperatures playing a role, but the failure of temperatures to drop off significantly at night, due to higher-than-usual humidity levels.

According to the National Weather Service, average nighttime lows in Tucson, Ariz., from July 1 through 15, 2010, have been the highest since records have been kept. The temperature has averaged 81.8 degrees through July 1 through 28 this year. The hottest month ever was 81.4 degrees during July 1999. A typical July averages 76.5 degrees.

It has been a similar story for much of the Midwest, South and the East this summer. In the major East Coast cities, where many urban dwellings are made of brick, structures, roads and sidewalks absorb the heat during the day and give it off at night.

High humidity levels inhibit the overnight cooling process not only in those areas, but also over the countryside.

The hot, humid weather is a concern for all ages and interests ranging from those engaging in rigorous sports to spectators. Coaches and camp directors are urged to exercise caution in the hot, humid weather.

While it does appear that temperatures will be a little less extreme, on average, in central and eastern areas of the nation during August, much of the same area that has been hotter and more humid than usual so far this summer, will continue to experience at least above-average temperatures.

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