That humid stretch of weather the Northwoods experience last week before the smoke came was two times more likely because of climate change.
This is according to Climate Central’s ‘Humid heat climate signal’ which maps change in likelihood due to climate change.
As humans burn more fossil fuels, our planet warms, and a hotter atmosphere can hold more water.
This means we’re looking at more frequent high humidity days and hotter humidity events.
Dr. Jane Baldwin says that’s concerning for people’s health. She’s an assistant professor of Earth System Science at the University of California-Irvine.
High humidity makes it harder to sweat effectively and, in turn, makes it harder to stay cool.
“The human body can tolerate some small variations in its internal temperature, but after a certain point, if the human body gets too hot, this can lead to heat illness or, worst case, heat stroke, which can be fatal,” said Baldwin.
Deaths linked to heat exposure in the U.S. surged more than 50% over the past two decades.
Baldwin says they also see an exacerbation of underlying pre-existing health issues such as respiratory or cardiovascular disease from higher levels of temperature and humidity.
She expects the increase in humidity will worsen health outcomes, but by how much is still unclear.
There is some disagreement among different types of health professionals on how much humidity factors into negative heat health impacts, according to Baldwin.
Physiologists who study human bodies in a controlled environment have found humidity is critical for predicting heat stress.
On the other end, epidemiologists who study variations in deaths and hospitalizations across time and populations have had a lot of trouble finding a strong relationship between variations in humidity and those health outcomes.
“The good news is that over the past few years, there's been a lot more interaction between these different fields of health research to try and resolve these discrepancies and lead to much more confident both predictions of heat impacts with climate change and also basically advice on how people should cope with the heat, but it's still a work in progress,” said Baldwin.
Baldwin’s research team is looking into how it can go beyond the risk of heat-related illness to a person’s quality of life.
“How will heat alter our ability to just have fun and comfortable lives with climate change? Even if you're not at risk of dying in the heat, chances are you've had to modify your activity when it's extremely hot,” said Baldwin. “We're developing methods to be able to predict with climate change how safe physical activity levels will change. To be able to answer questions like, how frequently will you be able to go for a run or do chores or play outside in the heat.”
Baldwin says people can avoid the worst impact of extreme heat by paying attention to weather reports and planning around heat warnings and watches.
Staying hydrated, visiting cooling centers if necessary, and checking in on neighbors can help save lives during a heat wave.
