Last summer was the hottest ever recorded in the United States, and heat-related health emergencies also reached record-high levels in some parts of the country. Heat-related illnesses accounted for a 20% larger share of emergency department visits than they did in the five previous seasons

Last summer was the hottest ever recorded in the United States, and heat-related health emergencies also reached record-high levels in some parts of the country.

In the United States, the vast majority of emergency department visits for heat-related emergencies — such as heat stroke, heat cramps and sunburns — happen during the warm season that lasts from May through September, peaking in July and August, according to surveillance data collected by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

During the warm season last year, heat-related illnesses accounted for a 20% larger share of emergency department visits than they did in the five previous seasons. Data from hundreds of emergency departments across the country shows that 180 out of every 100,000 total visits were due to heat-related illness in 2023, compared with 151 out of every 100,000 total visits from 2018 to 2022.

[https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7315a1.htm?s_cid=mm7315a1_w](https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/73/wr/mm7315a1.htm?s_cid=mm7315a1_w)