Lethally High Temperature Days Predicted To Increase

By Julian Hayda
In this Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019 photograph, a woman looks at a mobile phone while sitting by the Cismigiu lake on a hot evening in Bucharest, Romania. People gathered for a night picnic in the Cismigiu Gardens to take advantage of the slightly cooler air, as the Romanian capital and most of the country are still affected by a heat wave with day-time temperatures in the shade reaching 38 degrees Centigrade (100.4 Fahrenheit).
In this Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019 photograph, a woman looks at a mobile phone while sitting by the Cismigiu lake on a hot evening in Bucharest, Romania. People gathered for a night picnic in the Cismigiu Gardens to take advantage of the slightly cooler air, as the Romanian capital and most of the country are still affected by a heat wave with day-time temperatures in the shade reaching 38 degrees Centigrade (100.4 Fahrenheit). Andreea Alexandru / AP Photo
In this Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019 photograph, a woman looks at a mobile phone while sitting by the Cismigiu lake on a hot evening in Bucharest, Romania. People gathered for a night picnic in the Cismigiu Gardens to take advantage of the slightly cooler air, as the Romanian capital and most of the country are still affected by a heat wave with day-time temperatures in the shade reaching 38 degrees Centigrade (100.4 Fahrenheit).
In this Tuesday, Aug. 13, 2019 photograph, a woman looks at a mobile phone while sitting by the Cismigiu lake on a hot evening in Bucharest, Romania. People gathered for a night picnic in the Cismigiu Gardens to take advantage of the slightly cooler air, as the Romanian capital and most of the country are still affected by a heat wave with day-time temperatures in the shade reaching 38 degrees Centigrade (100.4 Fahrenheit). Andreea Alexandru / AP Photo

Lethally High Temperature Days Predicted To Increase

By Julian Hayda
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July was the hottest month ever recorded on Earth — and it may just keep getting hotter. Americans can expect an increasing number of days with potentially lethally high temperatures in the coming years, according to a new report. The report, released Tuesday by the Union of Concerned Scientists is titled “Killer Heat in the United States: Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days.” By the end of this century, the report predicts, an estimated 10.8 million of Illinois’ roughly 12.74 million residents will experience a heat index of 105 degrees Fahrenheit or higher for a full month each year. Major efforts to combat climate change might impact their predictions, the report’s authors note. Joining us to discuss the climate crisis and increasingly hot weather is Kristina Dahl, senior climate scientists for the Union of concerned Scientists and lead author on the killer heat report. Also with us is Emily Atkin, a staff writer at the New Republic covering science and environmental politics.