leisure time

WASHINGTON — An already record-setting summer heat wave will continue through August and will put more than 51 million Americans at risk of health impacts, according to new data from federal health officials.

Most of those vulnerable people live in 26 states and are expected to have at least five extreme heat days this month. Among the highest-risk counties, roughly 45% have high levels of uninsured adults and children and 18% have high senior populations, according to a relatively new monthly report drafted by the Health and Human Services Department’s two-year-old climate change office.

advertisement

The southwestern regions of California, Arizona, and Texas and a swath of the Northwest including rural Idaho and Montana could see half of the month at dangerous heat levels. There will be fewer extreme heat days for most of the East Coast after record temperatures and unprecedented wildfire smog earlier in the summer, but it is still the hottest summer on record across the nation.

Unlock this article by subscribing to STAT+ and enjoy your first 30 days free!