U.S. residents in the Midwest and along the Southeast down to Florida are all experiencing a heat wave with temperatures exceeding a heat index of 100 degrees this week.
Tampa even recorded a temperature of 100 degrees for the first time Sunday since records began 135 years ago, followed by another extreme heat day Monday.
The official high reached 95 degrees Monday afternoon, but the heat index, which accounts for humidity, reached a peak of 117 degrees around 3 p.m.
Shel Winkley, a meteorologist with Climate Central, said in an email, “human-caused global warming is having a measurable impact on temperatures in the Tampa area,” with the Climate Shift Index showing Monday's warmth was made at least five times more likely due to climate change.
The nonprofit determined that 27 million people across Florida, Georgia and South Carolina are expected to experience maximum temperatures made three times more likely because of climate change from July 28 to Aug. 1.
And summer heat like this is more common because of an overheated world driven by carbon pollution.
How heat impacts outdoor workers
Two million people work outside in Florida.
Last year, the Florida Legislature and governor banned local governments from setting heat protections for them by passing and signing HB 433 into law.
Oscar Lodoño is the co-executive director of WeCount, a member-led organization of immigrant workers in South Florida.
He said there have been reports this summer of outdoor workers getting dizzy or headaches — some have even been hospitalized after experiencing heatstroke.
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"What we're seeing this summer is really the consequence of government inaction,” he said.
“This is what happens when our government doesn't step in to make sure that every single employer is providing workers with common sense protections that all of us deserve … the things that every single worker should receive to guarantee that when they go to work they can come home back alive.”
This heat wave comes a month after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration began national public hearings for a proposed federal heat standard.
Lodoño said since there’s been inaction from local, state and federal governments so far, WeCount members have been reaching out to thousands of workers, distributing safety kits and heat education.
“We have a community radio station called Radio Poder, where we broadcast heat safety PSAs in multiple languages and dialects, not just Spanish and Haitian Creole, but in a lot of the Mayan indigenous dialects that Guatemalan communities speak,” he said.
“We're hosting heat safety education workshops. We're making sure that workers, even if they don't have these guaranteed, enforceable rights on the job, have the tools and resources and the empowerment to speak up, to demand their rights and to protect themselves and their co-workers from extreme heat.”
Safety tips from a doctor
With the heat rising across the state, a doctor shared some tips on how to stay safe the rest of your summer.
Miami internist Dr. Cheryl Holder is also the co-founder of Florida Clinicians for Climate Action, an organization that advocates for climate and health solutions.
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She said by the time you feel cramps, nausea and dizziness, you've reached heat exhaustion.
"That's a red flag to stop," she said.
It's time to go inside and cool down. You should drink lots of fluids, take a cold shower,or even put a cold, wet towel around your neck.
"In about half an hour to an hour, you should feel better. And if you're not, you should get some help,” Holder added.
Outdoor workers are at high risk, she said, especially because many keep working through the heat exhaustion symptoms of headache, faintness and confusion.
"If they don't stop, they will get a heatstroke,” she said, recommending regular hydration, light and loose clothing, along with 10 minutes of rest every hour or so.
For those who are very physically active, sports drinks with a little extra sugar will increase the absorption of the sodium and the electrolytes, she said.
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Children, the elderly and pregnant people are especially vulnerable to the heat.
Holder said the humidity in Florida can make it more dangerous because it doesn’t allow sweat to evaporate.
“If that sweat cannot evaporate, you're not going to cool. So, humidity is like an additional fluid around your body,” she said.
And don't forget about pets.
"Dogs don't sweat. They pant. It's very difficult to cool down. Dogs also get heatstrokes" Holder said.
So, on extremely hot days, don't leave your pets outside, and be mindful of pavement burning their paws.
