Health

High school sports teams start practices soon in what has been an extremely hot summer in much of the country. Now, before they hit the field, is the time for athletes to start slowly and safely building up strength and stamina. Studies have found that the greatest risk of heat illness occurs in the first two weeks of team practices, while players’ bodies are still getting used to the physical exertion and the heat. Being physically ready to start increasingly intense team practices can help reduce the risk. I am an athletic trainer who specializes in catastrophic injuries and heat illnesses. Here’s what everyone needs to know to help keep athletes safe in the heat. Why should athletes restart workouts slowly? One of the biggest risk factors for developing dangerous exertional heat illnesses is your physical fitness level. That’s because how fit you are affects your heart rate and breathing, and also your ability to regulate your body temperature. If an athl...

A month into summer 2024, the vast majority of the U.S. population had already experienced at least one extreme heat wave, and millions of people were under heat alerts, with forecasts warning of more ahead. Death Valley hit 125 degrees Fahrenheit (51.7 Celsius) or higher for nine consecutive days in early July. Las Vegas broke its all-time heat record at 120 F (48.9 C). Days of 100-degree heat dried out the California landscapes, fueling wildfires there and in the Northwest. Oregon reported several suspected heat deaths. Globally, the planet had its hottest day in at least eight decades of recordkeeping on July 21 – and then broke the record again on July 22, according to the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service. The extreme heat is part of a longer trend: Each of the past 13 months has been the hottest on record for that month globally, including the hottest June, the EU service reported in early July. It also found that the average temperature for t...

When wildfires rage, the immediate threat is obvious – but smoke from the fires actually kills far more people than the flames. As fires become more frequent, that smoke is leading to a public health crisis. In a new study published in the journal Science Advances, we found that wildfire smoke likely contributed to more than 52,000 premature deaths across California alone from 2008 to 2018, with an economic impact from the deaths of more than US$430 billion. Previous studies have examined the short-term health risks from wildfire smoke, but few have assessed how exposure to wildfire smoke over years adds up to shorten human lives. Smoke from far-off wildfires turns the skies orange over San Francisco in 2020. Running in wildfire smoke carries harmful particles deep into a person’s lungs. AP Photo/Tony Avelar Wildfire risk and severity have grown as the climate has changed and as more...

Coast to coast, millions of Americans are experiencing sweltering temperatures this summer, with seemingly little relief in sight. For people who struggle to access or afford air conditioning, the rising need for cooling is a growing crisis. An alarming number of Americans risk losing access to utility services because they can’t pay their bills. Energy utility providers in 2022 shut off electricity to at least 3 million customers who had missed a bill payment. Over 30% of these disconnections happened in the three summer months, during a year that was among the hottest on record. In some cases, the loss of service lasted for just a few hours. But in others, people went without electricity for days or weeks while scrambling to find enough money to restore service, often only to face disconnection again. As researchers who study energy justice and energy insecurity, we believe the United States is in the midst of a disconnection crisis. We started tracking these disconnect...

Wherever people look, climate change is inflicting ever greater physical, economic, and mental costs on people and communities. From the impact of extreme weather events on food security to the growing spread of infectious diseases as weather patterns change, and with the rise of deadly heat waves, it is undeniable that what harms our planet also harms our health.  To meet the Paris Climate Agreement targets of limiting global temperature rise to under 1.5°C (2.7°F), every sector—including health care—must undergo decarbonization in adapting to this new reality. Health care is one of many sectors fueling the climate crisis, emitting more global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions than the shipping industry.    In a new study, Unitaid sought to answer whether switching from one drug to another could provide lifesaving benefits while reducing carbon emissions. The findings reveal that this is not only possible, but also already...