Climate Fact: Stagnant Air and Heat Waves
Heat waves, defined as three or more consecutive days when temperatures exceed 90 degrees Fahrenheit, can create public health hazards. In the United States, heat and drought account for the biggest share of hazard-related deaths at 19.6 percent. Death rates rise an average of six percent during heat waves and over the 20th century, the average number of heat waves doubled across the United States. Lack of rainfall and the prevalence of stagnant air conditions when there is little or no wind both work to compound the problem. Over the second half of the 20th century throughout most of the West, the southern Great Plains and the Southeast, stagnant air conditions were prevalent more the 25 percent of the time during heat waves.
To see how frequent stagnant air conditions are in your local area, visit http://www.earthgauge.net/climate-facts-image-library#1. This is a public domain image from the recently published “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States” report published by the U.S. Global Change Research Program. The data used came from the NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center.
Season: Summer
Sources: Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States, Thomas R. Karl, Jerry M. Melillo, and Thomas C. Peterson,(eds.). Cambridge University Press, 2009 and Patz, JA. et al. “Impact of regional climate change on human health.” Nature 438 (2005): 310-317.
