We’re only halfway through summer in Western North Carolina but temperatures in June and July so far have been hotter than normal.
This past Tuesday, some areas in Western North Carolina were under a heat health alert as temperatures in some counties reached 95 degrees.
The average high temperatures in Asheville so far this month have been six to eight degrees warmer than normal. Due to the hot temperatures, there’s an increased risk for heat-related illnesses.
Children, older adults, pregnant people, athletes, outdoor workers, people without access to air conditioning, and people with chronic health conditions are at most risk, according to Dr. Virginia Guidry, branch head of Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services.
Heat can strain the body in multiple ways, Guidry added.
“Especially on the heart and kidneys as it tries to cool itself. As a result, heat extremes can worsen health risks from chronic conditions, cardiovascular respiratory, diabetes and cause acute kidney injury. We really have to watch not only for heat stroke and heat exhaustion, but all other chronic conditions because of the stress it places on the body.”
Some heat exhaustion symptoms to look out for are:
- Heavy sweating
- Nausea
- Dizziness
- Headaches
- Dry mouth
- Irritability
- Weakness
- Fast pulse
To help prevent heat-related illness, Guidry advises taking preventative steps:
“We want people to increase their fluid intake, spend time in a cooler or air conditioning environment. Reduce their normal activity levels….and of course, seek medical attention if needed.”
Hot June and July
Assistant State Climatologist Corey Davis says June was the eighth warmest June on record since 1946 in Asheville. And the past two weeks have been warmer than usual.
“Since June 26, that period has included the hottest days of the year so far, with high temperatures hitting at least 90 degrees five times,” Davis told BPR in an email interview this week. “There have only been four other days that warm in Asheville since 2013.”
The average high temperatures in Asheville at this point in July are 85 to 86, so those hottest days have been six to eight degrees warmer than normal.
“This is abnormal,” says Dr. Kathie Dello, North Carolina’s state climatologist. “It's not something that we saw in the past. It's not our grandparents' heat or even our parents' heat anymore.”
“Right now we're looking at the second warmest year on record for Asheville and it's right behind 2012 which was a warm year as well,” Dello said.
Guidry said climate change continues to impact temperatures and precipitation as North Carolina is getting warmer and drier.
Dello explained WNC and the rest of the state have emerging drought conditions.
“We've been really dry and the hot temperatures aren't helping that situation either but we're seeing pretty major crop losses across the entire state of North Carolina.”
Guidy is concerned heat wave consequences will continue due to the impact of fossil fuels in North Carolina.
Even though natural gas use for electricity generation in the state has tripled in the past decade, North Carolina is behind, according to federal data.
As of February 2024, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) reports that North Carolina is among the 10 states with the lowest natural gas use per capita.
And even though fossil fuels don’t make up the entirety of the energy grid, Guidry predicts the warm weather will keep getting worse because of the state’s use of it.
“Our predictions are that this is going to keep getting worse until we are taking collective action to reduce our contributions to global warming and climate change and reduce the health effects from heat that we're already seeing.”
