According to the latest data from the Environmental Protection Agency, Utah and Nevada experienced an average of at least 20 days of unusually hot temperatures between 2018 and 2022, about twice the national average.
A place experiences " when temperatures are 95% or above its historical average. In June, Salt Lake City reached a near-record 101 degrees, 30 degrees above normal, while the rest of the state also experienced triple-digit temperatures.
But it's not just Western states that are feeling the heat. Between 2018 and 2022, Nantucket, Massachusetts, had an average of 30 extreme heat days. In fall 2023, public schools closed due to abnormally high temperatures.
People who experience extreme heat in traditionally cooler climates, including the Pacific Northwest, can be more at risk because they are ill-prepared. At least 54 people died in Multnomah County, Oregon, during a June 2021 heatwave; most in their homes.
High heat impacts some groups more than others. Older adults, athletes, and people who work outdoors are among the most at risk for heat-related injury.
A 2023 report from Kaiser Family Foundation found extreme heat disproportionately impacted people in some historically marginalized population groups, including Black people, Indigenous Americans, and noncitizens, who have than white people.
In April, the Labor Department for a lack of prevention against heat-related hazards after one of their employees, a 26-year-old man from Mexico, died of heat stroke last year.