Looking forward to getting a break from the heat? You aren’t alone. The United States has experienced more record-breaking heat this summer, highlighting the growing impact of climate change as extreme heat and heat waves become more frequent and intense. As the summer comes to a close, we reflect on the climate change and heat connection, how extreme heat harms the lungs and share a new tool you can use to help protect yourself.
How Is Climate Change Making Extreme Heat Worse?
Climate change, accelerated by human activities like the burning of fossil fuels, has led to a steady increase in global temperatures. In turn, this increase has caused more frequent, intense and prolonged heatwaves across the globe. According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the number of extreme heat events has doubled over the past 20 years, with the duration of these events also increasing.
How Does Extreme Heat Impact Lung Health?
Extreme heat can be harmful to the whole body, including the lungs. For individuals with chronic lung disease like asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), high temperatures can cause the airways to constrict, making it more difficult to breathe. This means that heat can trigger asthma flare-ups and exacerbate symptoms. But even healthy individuals can feel the effects of heat as their body works harder to regulate its internal temperature. This can put strain on the lungs leading to shortness of breath and other respiratory symptoms. For those with COPD, the combination of heat stress and decreased lung function can increase the risk of hospitalization and even death.
Additionally, an increase in heat can become a breeding ground for air pollution. The most common pollutants, ground-level ozone (smog) and particulate matter, are both powerful lung irritants that can penetrate deep into the lungs, causing a host of health issues ranging from respiratory and cardiovascular harm to lung cancer and early death. Natural disasters like wildfires, which are happening more frequently because of the hotter, drier conditions, produce even higher levels of particle pollution in the air. Whenever these air pollutants are present, they can cause inflammation and damage to the airways. They can also lead to worsening asthma and other lung disease symptoms, more frequent flare-ups and hospital visits.
Climate change is also causing longer and more intense pollen seasons. Longer pollen seasons, a higher concentration of pollen produced by each plant, and plants expanding where they can grown, means people are exposed to more pollen, leading to more frequent and severe allergic reactions. This can trigger asthma exacerbations and other respiratory issues, putting additional strain on the lungs, making the combination of extreme heat and increased polled levels debilitating for anyone with respiratory allergies or asthma.
Extreme heat also increases the risk of dehydration, which can have indirect but significant effects on lung health. Dehydration thickens the mucus in the airways, making it more difficult to clear and increasing the risk of respiratory infections. For individuals with chronic lung diseases, this can lead to exacerbations and other complications. Dehydration also affects the body's ability to regulate temperature, putting additional stress on the heart and lungs. This can lead to an increase in respiratory rate and, in severe cases, respiratory failure.
Whose health is affected by extreme heat?
Everyone’s health is at risk from extreme heat. But certain groups are more vulnerable to the effects of heat and are more likely to experience severe health outcomes. These groups include outdoor workers, the elderly, children, pregnant individuals, individuals with pre-existing health conditions (including people with lung disease), people experiencing homelessness, individuals living in manufactured homes, and those living in low-income communities. Outdoor workers, such as construction workers, farmworkers, and delivery personnel, are at significant risk from extreme heat due to their prolonged exposure. Low-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by extreme heat due to a variety of factors, including limited access to air conditioning, limited tree canopies and greenspaces, poor housing conditions and higher levels of air pollution. Individuals living in manufactured homes are at risk due to the poor construction materials, insufficient insulation and air circulation, and limited air conditioning.
How can you protect yourself from heat?
The Lung Association has lots of useful information to help you protect yourself and your loved ones against extreme heat. You can get tips to protect yourself from heat-related illness, learn simple steps to keep your house cooler and discover changes that can be made in the community. Staying informed and prepared is more crucial than ever.
The new HeatRisk dashboard maintained by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) can also help you assess risk. The HeatRisk dashboard is designed to empower individuals with the information they need to protect themselves and their loved ones. This tool offers detailed insights into local heat risks, including:
- Personalized heat risk forecasts for your zip code.
- Details on local air quality.
- Actions you can take to protect your health.
By leveraging this resource, you can take proactive steps to safeguard your health, such as adjusting outdoor activities and staying hydrated.
Finally, we need continued action at every level to protect health from heat and to keep fighting climate change. The good news is that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized several key clean air and climate protections, which will reduce the amount of dangerous pollution people around the country are breathing and will literally save lives. Join us in thanking EPA for these protections and urging the agency to keep up the momentum and finalize additional rules to address climate change.
Blog last updated: September 17, 2024
