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- cross-posted to:
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By vastly understating the number of heat-related deaths, medical officials make it harder to improve heat safety and save lives
Federal records say that heat caused or contributed to at least 2,300 deaths in 2023. But the counts rely on death certificates filled out by coroners, medical examiners and other doctors, who often don’t consider heat’s potential lethality before certifying cause of death.
Heat is regularly omitted from death certificates of people like Gomez, who was not killed directly by heat but whose heart problems may have been exacerbated.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says heat and other extreme weather should be noted on death certificates. The CDC says its tallies are likely severe undercounts and in 2017 urged that natural disasters including heat be included on death certificates even if the event affected a death indirectly.
I have a feeling that’s the point.
Given the lack of intention to do anything about it, avoiding counting keeps the pressure to do something about it from building.
Dunno how long that will work.
Considering there will be bias for elderly deaths, until enough of them die off to swing elections.