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Increased summertime heat stress in the US

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Abstract

In the past half century, the mean summertime temperature in the United States has increased1,4, with nights warming more than days5,6. When humidity is high, hot weather can cause heat stress in humans. Here we show that the frequency of extreme heat-stress events in the United States, caused by extremely hot and humid days as well as by heatwaves lasting for several days, has increased over the period from 1949 to 1995.

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Figure 1: Trends in the annual frequency of the daily-minimum apparent temperature exceeding local threshold values from 1949 to 1995.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Air Resources Laboratory, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, 20910, Maryland, USA

    Dian J. Gaffen & Rebecca J. Ross

Authors
  1. Dian J. Gaffen
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  2. Rebecca J. Ross
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Supplementary information

41586_1998_BF25030_MOESM1_ESM.gif

Supplementary information is available on Nature's World-Wide Web site (http://www.nature.com) or as paper copy from the London editorial office of Nature.

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Gaffen, D., Ross, R. Increased summertime heat stress in the US. Nature 396, 529–530 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/25030

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