Hot Asphalt Releases a Lot of Pollution Into the Air

• Dennis Thompson
• September 2, 2020
• Full Page

Asphalt baking in the summer sunshine is no fun for tender feet, but a new study suggests it's not doing your lungs any favors either.

As it heats up, asphalt releases chemical compounds that contribute to air pollution. And its emissions double as its temperature in...

Climate Change Could Bring Heat 'Health Crisis' to U.S. Cities

• Amy Norton
• August 18, 2020
• Full Page

Some of the leading hotspots in the United States are on track to become even more sweltering in the coming decades -- thanks to a combination of greenhouse gas emissions, urban development and population growth.

In a new study, researchers estimate that over the cou...

Expert Tips to Help You Beat the Heat

• Robert Preidt
• July 23, 2020
• Full Page

With much of the United States blanketed by a heat wave this week, the American Red Cross offers some survival tips.

Each year, extreme heat kills more than 600 people in the United States. And many others are at risk of heat-related illness, especially adults aged 6...

Heat Kills More Americans Than Previously Thought

• Steven Reinberg
• June 23, 2020
• Full Page

Heat is an underestimated killer in the United States, a new study suggests.

According to researchers, death records indicate that heat kills as many as 600 hundred Americans each year, but moderate heat may actually be killing more than 5,000 annually. And the socia...

Don't Be a 'Hot-Head': Study Suggests Head Overheating Impairs Thinking

• Steven Reinberg
• June 22, 2020
• Full Page

Can working or playing in the hot sun "fry" your brain?

Yes, claims a new, small study that found too much heat on the head hampered thinking in volunteers.

Most people know that high temperatures can cause heat exhaustion or heat stroke as the body's core ...

Climate Change, Smog Could Mean More Preemie Babies: Study

• Amy Norton
• June 18, 2020
• Full Page

Here's more bad news associated with climate change: Pregnant women exposed to air pollution or heat waves face a greater risk of having a preterm or underweight baby, a new research review finds.

The review, of 68 studies from across the United States, found that th...

Why Some Dogs Are at Higher Odds of Dying From Heat

• Amy Norton
• June 18, 2020
• Full Page

As summer temperatures soar, dogs are at risk of potentially fatal heat-related illness -- and certain ones appear particularly vulnerable, a large new study confirms.

The study, of more than 900,000 dogs, found that older pooches and those who carried extra pounds w...

Planet Already Seeing Temperatures Beyond Human Tolerability

• Amy Norton
• May 8, 2020
• Full Page

Researchers have predicted that if climate change goes unabated, the planet will experience intolerable heat in several decades. But a new study has found that in certain global hot spots, it's already happening.

In recent years, certain regions -- including the Pers...

Dangerously Hot Days for U.S. Farm Workers Could Double by 2050

• Robert Preidt
• May 5, 2020
• Full Page

Dangerously hot days for crop pickers in the United States will double over the next three decades because of climate change, a new study warns.

"Studies of climate change and agriculture have traditionally focused on crop yield projections, especially staple crops l...

Broiling in a Heat Wave? Wet T-shirt Can Safely Cool You Down

• Robert Preidt
• April 13, 2020
• Full Page

A wet T-shirt may cool seniors more effectively than an electric fan in hot, humid weather, reducing their risk of heat-related illness, according to a new study.

It included adult volunteers, average age 68, who sat for two hours in a room with an air temperature of...

Extreme Heat of Climate Change Could Triple Heart-Related Deaths

• Robert Preidt
• April 1, 2020
• Full Page

Heart disease deaths spike with extreme heat, and rising temperatures due to climate change may lead to a surge in such deaths in hot regions, researchers say.

For the study, the investigators analyzed 2010 to 2016 data on more than 15,000 heart-related deaths among ...

Climate Change's Hotter Days Will Take Toll on Mental Health

• Amy Norton
• March 25, 2020
• Full Page

As the days heat up, people tend to report more emotional distress, a new study finds, adding to concerns that global warming could take a growing mental health toll.

The study of more than 3 million Americans found that the longer people had to sweat out 80-degree d...

High Heat, Humidity Could Affect More Than 1.2 Billion People by End of Century

• Steven Reinberg
• March 24, 2020
• Full Page

As the Earth continues to warm from climate change, an estimated 1.2 billion people will be affected by heat stress from extreme heat and humidity by 2100, a new study predicts.

That is four times more people than are affected today and over 12 times more than would...

Climate Change May Translate Into More Fatal Injuries

• Amy Norton
• January 13, 2020
• Full Page

If climate change continues unabated, the United States should prepare for an increase in deaths from injuries, a new study claims.

Looking at data on injury deaths and temperature over 38 years, researchers found a correlation between unusually high temperatures and...

For Muslim Pilgrimage, Climate Change Poses Health Risks

• Robert Preidt
• August 28, 2019
• Full Page

Climate change-caused increases in heat and humidity could put Muslims making the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia in "extreme danger," a new study warns.

This pilgrimage, known as the Hajj, involves several days of activities, including 20 to 30 hours outdoors. <...

How to Protect a Loved One With Dementia During a Heat Wave

• Robert Preidt
• August 19, 2019
• Full Page

Heat waves can pose a serious risk to people with Alzheimer's disease, so their families should know how to keep them safe, advocates say.

Extreme heat is "dangerous for everyone, but especially for someone with Alzheimer's disease, who may be unable to spot the warn...

August Is Deadliest Month for Young Football Players

• Steven Reinberg
• August 12, 2019
• Full Page

It is an annual rite of summer: sending young men out on football fields across America in the sweltering August heat for grueling practice sessions designed to prepare them for the coming season.

But a new study shows the ritual can be costly if players are pushed t...

Heat Waves Brought by Climate Change Could Prove Deadly for Kidney Patients

• Robert Preidt
• August 9, 2019
• Full Page

New research uncovers yet another population that will be vulnerable to the heat waves that climate change is delivering with increasing frequency: people with kidney disease.

Extremely hot days can increase advanced kidney disease patients' risk of hospitalization...

In Heat Waves, Fans May Do More Harm Than Good

• Dennis Thompson
• August 6, 2019
• Full Page

Thinking of picking up an electric fan to help keep you cool and protect your health during the next heat wave?

You might want to think again.

Electric fans might make you feel cooler, but they can actually increase your risk of becoming heat sick and even ...

As Heat Bakes the Nation, Expert Offers Tips to Stay Safe

• Robert Preidt
• July 18, 2019
• Full Page

The heat is on.

Across two-thirds of the United States, over 115 million Americans live where some level of heat alert is already in effect, and 290 million will see temperatures soar past 90 degrees at some point in the next week, USA Today reported Wednesday...

Keeping the Lid on Global Warming Could Save American Lives

• Alan Mozes
• June 5, 2019
• Full Page

A new analysis suggests the Trump administration should have considered how unchecked climate change might harm U.S. citizens before it pulled out of a pact aimed at slowing down the pace of global warming.

In the study, researchers calculated that tens of thousands ...

More Back-to-Back Heat Waves Will Come With Climate Change

• Alan Mozes
• May 15, 2019
• Full Page

Here's another health danger climate change will deliver in the coming years: New research warns that back-to-back heat waves that go on for days will become more common as the planet warms.

The elderly and the poor will be the least prepared to weather this threat, ...