Resources and Research to Educate and Advocate for Change and Fight Against Heat
Climate change and the extreme heat it brings to our communities is a human-made problem. PSR’s Environment and Health Program has sounded the alarm for years about the fossil fuels that drive climate change, and we have helped the country change course toward a cleaner energy policy.
Thanks to our supporters, PSR created the resources below on the health hazards of extreme heat. Please use them to educate and advocate in your community for health and a livable climate.
Heat: Effects on the Elderly and Other Vulnerable Populations
Pamphlet on the health effects of heat by PSR Past President Alan Lockwood, MD, FAAN.
Heat, Fire, Water: How Climate Change Has Created a Public Health Emergency
Extreme heat, billowing wildfires, and water—either too much or not enough—are today’s faces of climate change. PSR board member Alan Lockwood, MD, FAAN profiles the health effects of these frightening phenomena.
Improving the Built Environment to Reduce Indoor Heat-Related Illnesses and Deaths
Greater Boston PSR Heat waves can produce dangerous indoor heat, especially for people who don’t have or can’t afford air conditioning. Heat pumps can help.
Workers Memorial Week Heat Protection Letter
Letter signed by PSR and partner groups asking the Department of Labor to issue a heat stress standard to protect worker safety, citing climate change and rising temperatures.
Climate and Health: Heat
A fact sheet from PSR on the heat-related health effects of climate change.
Heat’s Deadly Effects
Climate change is likely to increase the frequency of “extreme heat events” or heat waves.
By The Numbers
815
Or more
Workers killed by heat stress
Between 1992 and 2017, at least 815 workers died from heat stress. This is likely a vast underestimate, as heat-related deaths are underreported.
105°F
Body temperature
Sign of Heat Stroke
A body temperature of 105°F (40.5°C) or higher is a sign of heat stroke, a medical emergency. Children, the elderly, and those with pre-existing medical conditions are at elevated risk from extreme heat.
Latest Heat News & Actions
Tell FEMA, extreme heat and smoke are major disasters!
We’re entering another summer of increased risk of climate change-induced natural disasters. Tell FEMA that extreme heat and wildfire smoke are major disasters and should be treated as such!
It takes a neighborhood to survive the new heat
Op-ed in the Arizona Daily Star by Karen Peterson, PSR Arizona, discussing the chapter’s work on climate resilience.
Extreme heat’s impact on our health demands we take action
Op-ed in The Seattle Times by Washington PSR’s Drs. Breck Lebegue, Chris Covert-Bowlds, and Michael Soman.
Climate change is transforming how Angelenos live, breathe and escape the heat
Article in the Los Angeles Times quoting Martha Dina Argüello, executive director of PSR-Los Angeles.