It’s estimated that annual average temperatures in North Carolina will rise between 2 and 5 degrees by the middle of this century, and 2019 was the warmest year on record for the state. This heat has already had a significant impact on farmworkers, who have reported noticing both an increase in temperatures outdoors while working and afterwards, in lodging that does not offer relief from evenings that are trending increasingly warmer.
Host Frank Stasio talks to News and Observer reporter Aaron Sánchez-Guerra and Report for America fellow Adam Wagner about farmworkers and heat-related illness.
Sammy Fretwell, environmental reporter for The State in South Carolina, also joins Stasio to discuss an increase in reported vibrio bacteria cases. The toxic germ is still considered uncommon, but the increase in its presence in the Carolinas is related to warmer coastal water temperatures and rising sea levels. Each reporter is featured in the seven-part series, “Danger Beyond the Beach: Climate change and its toll on health in the Carolinas,” a partnership of The News and Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina; The State in Columbia, South Carolina; the Columbia Journalism School; and the Center for Public Integrity.
