ER visits linked to climate change
It's blamed for 1/4 of all heat-related visits in NC
Findings show that climate-change-fueled heat is increasing burdens on patients and healthcare systems.
Climate change accounted for 27% of heat-related emergency room visits in the United States and 25% in North Carolina from 2018 to 2025, according to a new study by Climate Central.
The analysis, published in the journal Climatic Change, used data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to estimate how heat-trapping pollution from burning fossil fuels drives medical emergencies. Researchers applied region-specific temperature health models to isolate the impact of global warming from natural weather variations during the warm months of April through October.
The findings show that climate-change-fueled heat is increasing burdens on patients and healthcare systems. On average, southern and western states experienced the highest rates of heat-related emergency room visits.
The study highlights an upward trend in heat-related medical crises. Across the U.S., heat illness results in more than 67,000 emergency room visits each year. Between 2008 and 2020, the rate of these visits increased by nearly 3% annually on average.
In the Southeast region, the data showed a significant disparity between a simulated natural climate and current reality. The region averaged 116 daily heat-related visits per 100,000 emergency room visits in a model without climate change, compared with 155 per 100,000 under actual, climate-altered conditions. That's a 25% increase due to climate change for the region, including Kentucky, south to Florida and North Carolina, and west to Mississippi.
According to data from the CDC and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, extreme heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the U.S.
Heat-related illness killed an average of 273 people in the country each year from 2015 through 2024. That figure is more than double the annual fatalities of flooding — the next deadliest weather event — and exceeds the annual death tolls from tornadoes, hurricanes, and lightning.
Medical experts with the CDC note that hot weather stresses the human body, causing symptoms that can require urgent medical attention. Severe cases of heat stroke can result in permanent organ damage or death.
While extreme heat affects the general population, certain groups face significantly higher risks. Children, outdoor workers, and adults over the age of 65 are the most vulnerable to heat-related illness and death, according to the CDC, as well as those living in urban areas.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has warned that if heat-trapping emissions continue, both average temperatures and heat extremes are projected to rise through the 21st century.
Europe experienced a similar spike in excess heat-related deaths during recent summer heat waves in June and July, which researchers at the panel determined would have been virtually impossible without the influence of climate change.
Initial estimates suggest more than 33,000 people, hitting those over the age of 75 the hardest, have died this summer from extreme heat in Europe, according to the web-based science, research, and technology news service Phys.org.
Ginger Bumgarner covers climate change and the environment in the Triad and Northwest North Carolina. Her work is funded by a grant from the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation and Journalism Funding Partners.
