Maryland has already had 2 heat-related deaths so far this year

A second Prince George’s County man died this month due to extreme heat, according to the Maryland Department of Health.

Though his identity has not been released, the department said he was an 83-year-old Black man. He died June 17.

Maryland’s first heat-related death of 2024 was a 59-year-old Hispanic man. Officials said that due to privacy concerns for the family, they could not share more information.

Maryland did not see its first heat-related death of 2023 until the middle of July.

“While we usually think about older people, people with medical problems, and the very young as being at risk for heat-related illnesses, MDH notes that younger healthy people, particularly those that work outdoors or who are physically very active (like people exercising or playing sports) are also at risk,” David McCallister, a spokesperson for the department, said in an email.

The death came during a week that the Baltimore region saw record-breaking heat. The city declared its first Code Red Extreme Heat alert of the year and Gov. Wes Moore directed state officials to coordinate responses to the extreme weather.

The state also saw a jump in the number of visits to emergency rooms or urgent cares and calls for emergency medical services, due to heat-related illness during that week.

Before the heat wave during the week of June 9-15, Maryland recorded a high of 17 EMS calls on June 13, and a high of 12 ER or urgent care visits on June 14.

But on June 22, when temperatures in the region hit 101 degrees, Maryland saw 91 EMS calls and 76 visits to the ER or urgent care. The day before, June 21, there were 27 EMS calls and 21 visits.

There were more heat-related visits to emergency departments or urgent cares last week than any other week so far in 2024, and than any week in 2023 or 2022, according to data from the Maryland Department of Health.

Most of last week’s visits were from people between 18 and 44 years old, according to MDH data. While anyone can suffer from heat-related illnesses, infants, young children and people over the age of 65 are among those considered most at risk.

As of Friday afternoon, there is a chance of “major” heat-related risk on July 4, according to the National Weather Service’s HeatRisk map. A high of 95 degrees is forecast for Wednesday and a high of 98 for Thursday in Baltimore, though at almost a week out, conditions can change.

Hotter, muggier conditions are likely in store for Maryland’s future, too. Blistering heat waves, regular flooding and winters without snow could become more common in the region as the world continues to experience a changing climate.

One way to picture the region’s climate future, according to Matthew Fitzpatrick, a professor at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, is to imagine the climate of the Deep South draped over the mid-Atlantic.