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.
Accurate and timely counts of heat deaths inform health officials about heat risk, an analysis by POLITICO’s E&E News shows.
They also save lives.
