Extreme heat in the first half of 2012 killed at least 74 Americans.
But the climate change-related heat mortality in the first half of 2012 is just part of a deadly trend. In 2011, at least 206 people died from extreme heat, up from 138 fatalities in 2010 and nearly double the 10-year average, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
LEARN MORE
Explore a searchable map of how climate change could cause more heat-related deaths in the 40 biggest cities in the United States.
extreme weather map
Read about the most serious health effects of climate change.
Search maps by state or zip code to learn about health-related threats from climate change across the U.S.
If we don't do more to reduce fossil fuel emissions and other heat-trapping greenhouse gases that are making heat waves more intense, more than 150,000 additional Americans could die by the end of this century due to excessive heat.
Heat-related death is just one deadly side effect of extreme weather tied to climate change. Extreme storms can cause drowning, contaminate drinking water and result in outbreaks of infectious diseases. Heat and ozone smog increases respiratory diseases such as asthma and worsens the health of people suffering from cardiac or pulmonary disease.
There are solutions to address the health effects of climate change. For starters, we need our lawmakers to quit ignoring climate change and start limiting carbon pollution that is heating our planet and increasing the intensity of extreme weather.