Heat-related deaths spiked 117% in the US since 1999

By Jen Christensen | CNN

As temperatures reach record levels in many parts of the US this week, emergency rooms are bracing for a new normal: More patients are becoming gravely ill because their bodies can’t take the heat.

Heat-related deaths in the US have been steadily increasing for years, a new study published in the medical journal JAMA shows — a 117% increase in heat-related deaths from 1999 to 2023, with at least 21,518 people dying in that period.

Using data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...