Health and Heat Waves: Harbingers of What's to Come with Anthropogenic Climate Change BY CADY RANCOURT '24 Cover Image: A car dash displays an outside temperature of 106°F. Image Source: Flickr; Creator: Geremy F
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Introduction The hottest days of summer bring feelings of exhaustion, discomfort, and longing for cooler days ahead. People flock to beaches and airconditioned buildings seeking respite from the oppressive heat, passing unfavorably updated Smokey the Bear fire danger signs. Even worse, though, is when the hottest days of summer occur consecutively and at abnormally high temperatures as a heat wave. Historically, heat waves have proven powerfully damaging, resulting in thousands of deaths, amplifying drought, and catalyzing wildfires (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2018a). The infamous European heat wave of 2003 took the lives of over 70,000 people and served as a “turning point” for how nations in Europe and beyond perceive, prepare for, and respond to heat waves (Di Napoli et al., 2019). While the 2003 heat wave was extraordinary and triggered a muchneeded response, it also garnered attention as a once-in-a-lifetime event. This mindset, however, is dangerous and unsustainable. Heat waves are becoming more frequent, while simultaneously
climbing to increasingly higher temperatures and growing in duration (Rastogi et al., 2020). They are anticipated to continue along that trend, which has been attributed to anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change (Rastogi et al., 2020). Because heat waves are only projected to worsen, the seemingly unbearable heat waves we currently endure are a preview of the kind of temperatures that may one day seem less extreme or even preferable. If—among other lasting and harmful impacts—the heat waves of the past and present have already garnered a dreadful death toll, what is to be expected for heat-related human health outcomes in the coming decades?
The Struggle to Define Heat Waves The general concept of a heat wave is not difficult to understand and—through lived experiences—is already grasped by many. Even so, problems emerge when researchers seek to study them. Varying definitions of heat waves create incongruence and prevent “comparison and synthesis of results” across literature (Anderson & Bell, 2011). Conceptually, a heat wave is a meteorological event lasting a few DARTMOUTH UNDERGRADUATE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE
