Hospitalizations From Extreme Heat In US Will Double To More Than 200,000 Cases/Year By 2040
People in the US are poised to endure another summer of unusually ferocious heat and there will be little respite in the years ahead, with a new study finding that the coming 15 years could see a doubling in hospitalizations due to heat-related illnesses. The number of annual heat-related emergency department visits or hospitalizations across the US are set to rise from about 109,000 cases a year to as many as 237,000 cases by 2040, the new research has estimated.
This, in turn, will almost double annual healthcare costs for heat-related conditions to more than $1bn, the new paper, published in the American Geophysical Union journal GeoHealth, found. Severe heat kills more people in the US each year than all other extreme weather events combined, with deaths surging by more than 50% over the past two decades.
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Already this year, the US has experienced its hottest ever March on record, with this summer expected to have above-average temperatures and potentially widespread wildfires, part of a longer-term trend of rising heat caused by the climate crisis.
A string of punishingly hot summers, particularly in places not used to such conditions, is likely to heap new challenges upon public health systems, the researchers warned. “There is this staggering cost to society we are going to see over the next 15 years,” said Vivek Shandas, a professor at Portland State University and study co-author. “It’s not that we will see this plateau of heat-related illnesses and we will get acclimated to it – there is going to be this sustained increase.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/09/extreme-heat-double-hospitalizations-2040-study
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